Japan to study link between coronavirus and gambling addiction

The Japanese government is planning to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gambling addiction as part of this year’s national gambling addiction survey, local media reports. 

On-site betting at horse racetracks, boat racing venues as well as ticket sales at off-track betting shops have halted as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus in the country. 

There are concerns that the stay-at-home orders have led to an expansion of online gaming and with it, gambling addiction.

In a 2017 survey, the Japanese government found that around 3.6 percent of the Japanese adult population had dealt with gambling addiction at some point in their lives.