Part I: Games & Gaming · Slot Machines & Electronic Gaming

Pachinko

Regional Terms (Japan)

A Japanese mechanical arcade game that serves as the country’s dominant form of recreational gambling. Pachinko machines are vertical pinball-like devices in which players shoot small steel balls into a playfield filled with pegs and scoring pockets. Winning balls are captured and exchanged for prizes, which can then be exchanged for cash at separate off-site establishments (circumventing Japan’s prohibition on casino gambling). Pachinko parlors are ubiquitous in Japan, with thousands of locations and annual wagering estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Pachinko machines use a combination of mechanical elements and electronic RNG systems to determine outcomes.

In practice

Japan’s pachinko industry predates legal casino gambling by decades. The integrated resort law (2018) will eventually bring regulated casino gambling to Japan, but pachinko is expected to remain dominant. Pachinko parlors are operated by major chains including Maruhan, Dynam, and Rakuen.

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