Pachinko-style gambling is helping improve the brains of seniors in Japan

Long associated with semi-legal gambling in Japan, the shrinking pachinko industry may be finding new life thanks to a surprising demographic: older people.

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

With Japan’s population shrinking each year and the government trying to curb gambling addiction, total spending at pachinko parlors was 14.6 trillion yen in 2022, less than half the level of nearly two decades ago.

“The industry is in decline and we are thinking about ways to revive the business,” said Hiroto Kamei, sales director at Toyomaru Sangyo, a pachinko machine manufacturer. “We are constantly adapting to the demands of the elderly.”

According to Kikunori Shinohara, a professor at Suwa Tokyo University of Science, playing vertical pinball machines may be good for preventing dementia. The brain scientist said, “I am getting old myself, but doing activities that I like and benefit from is far better than doing tedious therapy.”

The history of pachinko in Japan dates back nearly a century to when pinball machines were imported from Chicago. The introduction of the vertical “Masamura Gauge” model in the 1940s became the basis for the pinball playing style in the country. The mechanism is simple: players shoot small steel balls at an array of pins, trying to put them in specific pockets to trigger the jackpot and win more balls.

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

From machines equipped with large screens to others that integrate bike pedals, Toyomaru consulted scientists to design products for seniors. Some of the benefits from playing pachinko go beyond cognitive benefits; elderly users have reported sleeping better, and previously quiet, introverted users have begun to open up after playing pachinko, Kamei said.

Day Service Las Vegas, a casino-themed day care 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 house the elderly during the day because they live alone or family members are unable to care for them, but one of the few that are casino-themed.

“This is a day care that aims to simulate a casino so the elderly can have fun,” said Kaoru Mori, chief executive officer of Day Service Las Vegas, seeking to dispel any notion that it is creating gambling addictions among the roughly 7,000 clients under its care. “After all, we don’t use real money.”

Mori founded Day Service Las Vegas to add more excitement to the concept of care centers that were previously considered “boring”. About 20% of the facility’s guests play pachinko using fake money to buy tokens. They are required to take breaks every hour for exercise.

According to Shinohara, pachinko players in their 70s had cognitive abilities higher than their average non-playing age group, giving them another reason to play with the machines besides pure entertainment.

With the government’s greater focus on gambling, pachinko may be the new cognitive leisure for a country facing rapid senior growth. “I think what matters most is that pachinko brings them happiness,” Mori said.

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