Pachinko/Pachislot Playing Participation In Japan: Results From A National Survey

To understand individuals' pachinko/pachislot playing behaviour, one of the major games in Japan, we conducted a national study of Japanese residents who were between 18 and 79 years old. From resident records, in which all Japanese citizens are registered, 9,000 individuals were chosen by the two-stage stratified random sampling method. A total of 5,060 individuals submitted valid responses (response rate: 56.2%). Results indicated that 582 (11.5%) played pachinko/pachislot in the last 12 months ("past-year players''). Compared with "non-players'' (those who never played pachinko/pachislot before or did not play in the last 12 months), past-year players had higher 12-month participation rates in all 10 gambling activities other than pachinko/pachislot. To compare demographic variables between the past-year players and non-players, we performed chi-square tests. Past-year players were more likely to be men in their 30s, junior high school graduates, and earning a similar annual household income to the median value for all respondents. Demographic variables were compared for each participation level and significant differences between age groups were found: Participants in their 60s and 70s visited pachinko/pachislot parlours more frequently than did those in their 20s to 40s. This is the first study to reveal the details of pachinko/pachislot playing behaviour in Japan.