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Tokyo cops bust Internet casino in Ikebukuro, arrest 5

Hidenori Takada
Hidenori Takada
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the bust of an Internet casino in the Ikebukuro entertainment area of Toshima Ward for permitting illegal gambling, reports Nippon News Network (Sept. 17).

On Monday, officers raided parlor Rifrein and took manager Aritomo Oishi, 37, and employee Hidenori Takada, 35, into custody for providing baccarat and roulette gambling on 14 computers connected to an overseas site.

Oishi has reportedly admitted to the allegations. “When I came to Tokyo I didn’t have a job,” the suspect is quoted by police. “So I did it to make a living.”

The operation sold points, priced at 100 yen each, to customers who in turn could later exchange them for cash.

According to police, the 24-hour operation averaged 50 customers per day and had generated 36 million yen in revenue since March.

Officers also took three customers inside the premises at the time of the bust, including a 70-year-old male, into custody on gambling charges.