|
Years ago there
was a short-lived craze over the game of pachinko in the United
States. People were buying up the pin-ball type machines for fantastically
high prices and collectors were ferreting out old ones to put aside
for what they thought would be sky-high prices in the future. The
fad faded, however, pachinko went back to its origins and now most
of those remaining games are gathering dust in cellars, attic and
collectible shops.
 Now,
however, it appears as if the game of pachinko will soon be offered
in casinos and executives who are thinking about passing or accepting
the new game for their floor space should first take a look at Pachinko
and the Japanese Society by Ichiro Tanioka (146 pages, hardbound,
2001).
In Japan, where
gambling on pachinko is theoretically illegal, it's estimated that
30 million people break the law in what amounts to hundreds of billions
of dollars in revenue annually! It's a sociological phenomenon that
the author discusses in detail, prefacing it with information about
social isues, revenue data, and motivational analysis (why the craze).
Next, he moves to the allure of the game, examining family culture
and religion, upbringing, psychological environment and other factors
such as age, denial and social hierarchy.
In the third
chapter covering Pachinko as Business, Tanioka studies the Japanese
gambling market and the effects on local economy. He follows that
with an indepth analysis of the legal issues including regulation,
control and legal reform.
Finally, the
author analyzes the Japanese gambling market and uses comparisons
between pachinko and American casinos.
Tanioka is the
president of Osaka University of Commerce, Japan and holds a doctoral
degree in sociology, specializing in gambling and gambling research.
His main purpose for writing the book is to uncover the reasons
why so many Japanese are obsessed with this game and in accomplishing
that end, he has given others great insight into the lure of pachinko.
|
