What Is the Game Pachinko?

 

First created as a children's game in 1920s Japan, pachinko is a cross between pinball, arcade game, and slot machine. In pachinko, the goal is to get as many balls as possible into winning pockets, but like any arcade game, there's a twist. The playing field is crowded with hundreds of brass pins that obstruct the balls' path into winning pockets. You can see a pachinko game in action below.

What Are Pachinko Parlors?

Pachinko parlors are essentially arcade-like establishments that are filled with pachinko machines. Some pachinko machines are themed, from popular movies like "Jaws" to hot anime series. Smoking is allowed in most parlors, but according to the BBC, many parlors offer smoke-free areas, and some include translated instructions for tourists visiting Japan.

Gambling is illegal in Japan, but pachinko parlors subvert the ban through a loophole. "Pachinko" author Min Jin Lee told Business Insider that "pachinko parlors use a loophole by having an intermediary between the winning of the balls and then the conversion into cash." In other words, while parlors are not allowed to exchange players' balls directly for money, they can exchange them for tokens or a ticket, which players can then exchange for cash at third-party establishments.

How to Play Pachinko?

Playing pachinko is straightforward. First, the machines are typically sorted by price and their winning probability, according to Japan Travel. Each device can have a different price for the balls within it, such as one yen per ball, four yen per ball, and so forth. Picking the right pachinko machine depends on your familiarity and expertise in the game. Upon selecting the right machine, you insert money to play, then push a button to release a set of small metal balls to play with. To win, you must carefully push the play lever on the machine to launch the balls hard and high enough that they will make their way into one of the winning pockets. The more balls you get into winning pockets, the more prizes you can get.

How Popular Are Pachinko Parlors?

The pachinko game originated in the early 20th century as Corinthian Bagatelle, one of the earliest versions of pinball. A version of the game reached Japan in the 1920s and grew in popularity at the time, until the onset of World War II, when machines had to be used for scrap metal, according to Abroad in Japan. After World War II, the game regained popularity as the desire for leisure entertainment was in high demand. As the love for pachinko grew in the 1940s and 50s, parlors were built around the country and, since then, have become a multi-billion dollar industry in Japan.

The game of pachinko and pachinko parlors remain popular in Japan. There are over 10,000 parlors in the country alone, and the game's market is valued at approximately $200 billion annually, "nearly 30 times the annual gambling revenue of Las Vegas," as reported by Business Insider. Pachinko is so popular that 1 in 12 people in Japan play the game, according to Japan Today.파칭코

What Is the Game Pachinko?

 

First created as a children's game in 1920s Japan, pachinko is a cross between pinball, arcade game, and slot machine. In pachinko, the goal is to get as many balls as possible into winning pockets, but like any arcade game, there's a twist. The playing field is crowded with hundreds of brass pins that obstruct the balls' path into winning pockets. You can see a pachinko game in action below.

What Are Pachinko Parlors?
Pachinko parlors are essentially arcade-like establishments that are filled with pachinko machines. Some pachinko machines are themed, from popular movies like "Jaws" to hot anime series. Smoking is allowed in most parlors, but according to the BBC, many parlors offer smoke-free areas, and some include translated instructions for tourists visiting Japan.
Gambling is illegal in Japan, but pachinko parlors subvert the ban through a loophole. "Pachinko" author Min Jin Lee told Business Insider that "pachinko parlors use a loophole by having an intermediary between the winning of the balls and then the conversion into cash." In other words, while parlors are not allowed to exchange players' balls directly for money, they can exchange them for tokens or a ticket, which players can then exchange for cash at third-party establishments.

How to Play Pachinko?
Playing pachinko is straightforward. First, the machines are typically sorted by price and their winning probability, according to Japan Travel. Each device can have a different price for the balls within it, such as one yen per ball, four yen per ball, and so forth. Picking the right pachinko machine depends on your familiarity and expertise in the game. Upon selecting the right machine, you insert money to play, then push a button to release a set of small metal balls to play with. To win, you must carefully push the play lever on the machine to launch the balls hard and high enough that they will make their way into one of the winning pockets. The more balls you get into winning pockets, the more prizes you can get.

How Popular Are Pachinko Parlors?파칭코
The pachinko game originated in the early 20th century as Corinthian Bagatelle, one of the earliest versions of pinball. A version of the game reached Japan in the 1920s and grew in popularity at the time, until the onset of World War II, when machines had to be used for scrap metal, according to Abroad in Japan. After World War II, the game regained popularity as the desire for leisure entertainment was in high demand. As the love for pachinko grew in the 1940s and 50s, parlors were built around the country and, since then, have become a multi-billion dollar industry in Japan.
The game of pachinko and pachinko parlors remain popular in Japan. There are over 10,000 parlors in the country alone, and the game's market is valued at approximately $200 billion annually, "nearly 30 times the annual gambling revenue of Las Vegas," as reported by Business Insider. Pachinko is so popular that 1 in 12 people in Japan play the game, according to Japan Today.

Sega Sammy splits video games

 

Sega Sammy will split apart its video games and amusement divisions as part of a new company structure.

In a statement released last week, the Japanese firm said it has "been working on structural reform to transform its business structure to adapt to the external environment."

Going forward, the organization will be divided into Sega Group Corporation, which covers its video games operations, and Sammy Corporation, which encompasses its "pachinko, pachislot, arrange-ball, and jankyu machines"

Both will be wholly owned subsidiaries of Sega Sammy, but will operate as separate companies rather than divisions of a single entity. This will take effect in April this year.

In explaining the decision, Sega Sammy said that the new structure would be "more efficient" and "[accelerate] decision-making."

This decision has been taken following a difficult year for certain parts of Sega Sammy Holdings' business. While video games boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, those gains were erased by the collapse of its amusements and resorts divisions.

In November last year, Sega Sammy called for the voluntary redundancy of as many as 650 full-time employees.

Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings has reported a profit attributable to owners of the parent of JPY37.03 billion (US$286.4 million) in the 12 months to 31 March 2022, up from a profit of JPY1.27 billion (US$9.9 million) a year earlier thanks to gains in its three core business segments – pachinko, computer gaming and resort operations.

Having seen pachinko parlors across the country reopen following COVID-19 enforced closures throughout much of the 2021 financial year, Sega Sammy’s pachislot and pachinko machine business recorded the largest gains, with sales rising 42.6% year-on-year to JPY75.87 billion (US$586.6 million) and income of JPY10.28 billion (US$79.5 million) reversing a prior year loss of JPY11.22 billion (US$86.7 million). The company said this was achieved by reviewing the product line-up – including the revival of successful past products – and “improving development efficiency”.파칭코사이트인포

In the Amusement Contents Business, where it develops new computer games titles, arcade machines and free-to-play online games, net sales grew 8.3% to JPY235.94 billion (US$1.82 billion) while income increased by 32.0% to JPY36.86 billion (US$285.0 million).

And in the resort segment, comprising non-gaming Phoenix Sea Gaia Resort in Japan plus casino resort Paradise City in Incheon, South Korea – of which Sega Sammy holds a 45% stake – net sales grew 37.1% year-on-year to JPY8.66 billion (US$67.0 million), with the resort’s loss narrowing from JPY8.98 billion (US$69.4 million) to JPY6.74 billion (US$52.1 million). The company noted that drop was up by 48.5% and the number of guests by 56.9% year-on-year, however, “travel demand has been sluggish due to the impact from the spread of COVID-19.”

Gambling Addiction in the Land of Pachinko

 

A Widespread Issue
Family Connection

Gambling is pervasive in Japan. Pachinko and slot machine parlors dot the landscape, and prodigious numbers of publicly operated horse, boat, and bicycle racing venues offer onsite and remote betting. The spread of smartphones, too, has made it possible for people to gamble online anytime and anywhere.

According to a 2017 survey by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 3.6% of Japanese adults some 3.2 million people are thought to suffer gambling addiction at some point in their life. This is startlingly high compared to rates in other industrialized nations like France and the Netherlands, where it is 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively.

The survey found that over the previous year, 0.8% of Japanese, some 700,000 people, exhibited behavior consistent with gambling addiction, and that addicts on average spent ¥58,000 a month on their affliction. It also named pachinko and slot machines as the most popular forms of wagering.

In December 2016, the Japanese Diet passed integrated resort promotion legislation, the so-called casino law, focusing much-needed public attention on the long-time problem of gambling addiction. Surprisingly, though, the bill was not accompanied by counter measures intended to address compulsive gambling. Japan’s willingness to expand its already robust gambling industry further without taking steps to combat addiction makes it an outlier among developed nations. And it is exactly this indifference to excessive wagering that has enabled the disorder to spread through society.

I have seen firsthand the effects of gambling on families. My grandfather, father, and husband were all compulsive gamblers, and I was also diagnosed with the disorder. People have repeatedly expressed to me their dismay at my inability to avoid the trap that snared my father and grandfather. While I can sympathize with this view, it illustrates an underlying ignorance of the affliction. The reality is that over wagering very often runs in families, and it is by no means unusual to hear of third-generation addicts, such as myself.

Of course, no child of a gambling addict wants to repeat the mistakes of their parents, but many wind up trudging down the same dark road. In my case, I was shocked at realizing that I too had become a compulsive gambler. It filled me with feelings of guilt and disappointment, and all I could do was ask how I had succumbed so easily to the affliction.

To answer that question, I had to look back at my own life experiences. My mother divorced my father early on due to his gambling habit. She returned to her own parents’ home with me in tow, but this was hardly better as my grandfather also spent hours on end at pachinko parlors. His gambling strained relations among family members and finances, and we had to live hand to mouth. Our situation was so desperate that when I entered junior high school my mother could not even afford to buy me a school uniform and backpack like the other students had.

Still, I would go with my grandfather when he played pachinko and was already a fixture at the parlors he frequented by the time I was in kindergarten. Through these outings I learned early on that gambling was fun. I was not the only person influenced by my grandfather’s gambling habit either. When the family gathered at the New Year or other holidays, we would all play the traditional Japanese card games of hanafuda or mahjong.

Secretly, though, we disdained our grandfather’s wagering. I suspect that each of us felt assured that we would never turn out to be a helpless gambler like he was. I certainly know that I did.파칭코사이트인포

When you grow up surrounded by gambling as I did, it comes to be a normal aspect of life. After I met my husband, who also had a penchant for betting, hardly any time passed before we had given ourselves over completely to playing the odds.

Pachinko revenues

“Pachinko used to be just for men, but I like pachinko. I come alone, and just focus.”

Pachinko revenues are falling as Japan’s population ages.

Gross revenue has shrunk to 19 trillion yen ($185.75 billion) from 31 trillion over the past two decades, and the number of players halved between 2002 and 2012, research by investment bank Morgan Stanley shows.

Part of the problem has been a 15-year economic slump just ending. Spending on all kinds of leisure has dropped by almost a third over the past 20 years, but the number of players per machine has roughly halved since 2000 to stand at just over two in 2012, Morgan Stanley estimates.

Japan’s moves to legalize casino resorts could force pachinko out of the gray zone where it has thrived for decades. It faces no gaming taxes, since it is not treated as gambling, which is illegal, but is viewed instead as an amusement.

Pachinko began as a children’s toy in the 1920s, which gained popularity among adults after World War Two.

Machines spew out winnings in the form of small metal balls. Most players opt to swap winnings for cash, with 87 percent of players at Dynam going this route.

Maruhan and Dynam have fared better than the rest of the industry, which is dominated by family-owned firms. Maruhan’s annual revenue after payouts was about 80 billion yen for the fiscal year that ended in March, up about 16 percent from 2012. For Dynam, revenue was flat over the same period.

But even big operators face difficulties, one expert says.

“Every year, fewer and fewer people are playing pachinko,” said Tohru Okazaki, who has published five books on the industry. “Young people are simply not playing.”

Young people stopped because payouts are smaller and they find it harder to borrow money, said Naomi Suzuki, whose family runs a chain of parlors in the Fukushima prefecture that was hit by the 2011 earthquake and the nuclear crisis that followed.파칭코사이트인포

“Twenty years ago, pachinko parlors were full of young people, but now it’s mostly all middle-aged and old people that come and play,” said Suzuki. “Young people have no money.”