Japan’s waning pachinko industry seeks new market by focusing on seniors

TOKYO – Long associated with semi-legal gambling in Japan, the shrinking pachinko industry may get a new lease of life, thanks to a surprising demographic: old people.

Bolstered by evidence that playing the vertical pinball machines can help prevent dementia, some businesses are now tailoring products and services for seniors in a bid to revive growth.

With Japan’s population getting smaller each year and the government seeking to curb gambling addiction, total spending at pachinko parlours was 14.6 trillion yen (S$134 billion) in 2022, less than half the level from around two decades ago.

“The industry is in decline, and we are trying to think of ways to revive the business,” said Mr Hiroto Kamei, sales director of pachinko machine maker Toyomaru Sangyo. “We are constantly adjusting to the demands of the elderly.”

Playing the vertical pinball machines can be good for preventing dementia, according to neuroscientist Kikunori Shinohara, a professor at the Suwa Tokyo University of Science. “I am getting old myself, but doing activities I like that have benefits are much better than doing tedious therapy,” he said.

Pachinko’s history in Japan goes back almost a century, when pinball machines were imported from Chicago. The introduction of the vertical “Masamura Gauge” model in the 1940s became the basis for the style of pinball playing in the country. The mechanism is simple: Players shoot small steel balls up into an array of pins while trying to land them in specific pockets to trigger jackpots and win more balls. 

Accumulated balls can be exchanged for tokens, which, in turn, can be turned into money at designated cashier locations just outside the pachinko parlour. Although the two-step process allows them to operate without violating gambling laws, the industry has been long been tainted with mob ties.

From machines equipped with big screens to others that integrate bike pedals, Toyomaru consulted scientists to design products tailored for seniors.

Some of the benefits from playing pachinko go beyond cognitive benefits; older users have reported sleeping better, and previously quiet, introverted users began to open up after playing pachinko, Mr Kamei said.

Day Service Las Vegas, a casino-themed daycare service provider for the elderly, introduced pachinko machines a decade ago, in addition to offering mahjong, poker and other games. It is one of about 20,000 facilities in Japan that take in seniors during the day because they live alone or family members are not able to take care of them, but among the few that are casino-themed. 

Day Service Las Vegas chief executive Kaoru Mori said: “This is a daycare, intended to imitate a casino, so the elders can have fun.” He sought to dispel any notion that it was causing gambling addiction among the roughly 7,000 clients under its care. “After all, we don’t use real money,” he added.

Mr Mori founded Day Service Las Vegas to try and add more excitement to the concept of care centres previously perceived as “boring”. About 20 per cent of the facility’s guests play pachinko using fake money to buy tokens. They are required to take hourly breaks for exercise.

Pachinko players in their 70s had higher cognitive abilities than their average non-playing age group, providing another reason for them to play with the machines beyond just pure entertainment or recreation, according to Prof Shinohara.

With the government’s closer attention on gambling, pachinko could be the new cognitive leisure for a nation facing rapid senior growth.

Mr Mori said: “I think what matters the most is that the pachinko brings them joy.” Bloomberg