Huge Gambling Industry Few Outsiders Know About
Way of Pachinko
Japanese love of Pachinko machines created a major industry.
Pachinko is a very popular mechanical game in Japan. Although the mobile arcade games grow in popularity, traditional Pachinko machines still lead the way.
Pachinko machine resembles pinball machines in a sense that balls are triggered and make their way down. The difference is that these machines are vertical and there are no flippers to bounce back the balls as casino gambling news portray.
The balls, instead, cascade down through densely populated terrain filled with many pins, which affect the direction into which the balls fall. By controlling the speed, the player hopes the balls make it into special holes, activating the release of more of these small steel balls.
The balls can be exchanged for prizes such as teddy bears or perfumes. However, there are underground outfits where these can be exchanged for real cash. As a result, many play Pachinko for real money.
The modern versions of Pachinko machines are embedded with electronics and resemble online or mobile slots. These are called Pachislots. The Pachinko theme is, nevertheless, retained.
Pachinko revenues annually amount to nearly 30 trillion yen or $400 billion, making it a huge industry. In fact, this is a multiple of Macau’s revenues. Thus, be not surprised when visiting Japan. There are way more Pachinko parlors in Japan than sports betting shops in England.
