Japan wasn’t known as a country with many casino players, but the gambling industry, including slots and table games, increased its popularity over the past century. Now, it is the country with one of the best-developed gaming industries in the world. Japan launched some of the most iconic games that are still being preferred by players.
Whether you are a gamer or you want to learn more about gambling in Japan, reading this article is well worth it. When it comes to the casino industry in Japan, many people assume that the casino culture doesn’t exist in the country. It is, though, but it’s a lot different from what we’re used to knowing. For example, the recommended online casino for Japanese players is Pachinko.
Culture of Pachinko
The Japanese pachinko industry influenced the well-known slot game. Slot games don’t really have a story: they’re simple, with not many things to keep players engaged for too long. Japanese games are much more interesting and with great features. Modern pachinko games have now different landscapes, sounds, and graphics. Pachinko inspired many casino websites to include great bonuses and promotions for beginners, as well as creating storytelling and many financial prizes.
Online casinos in Japan gained a lot of popularity since last year. While these are still illegal in Japan, gamblers use online casinos hosted in other countries to play slot machines. Pachinko is the best you will get to casinos in Japan. With so many dedicated pachinko locations in Japan, the country spends around $200 billion in these parlors in 2018.
These locations aren’t exactly casinos – they’re more like “arcades”. These parlors can pay you in vouchers, which can be used to exchange for prizes. As a traveler, you might not want to gamble in one of these buildings, but you can gamble and change your vouchers for tokens, which can be sold at a shop for cash. Pachinko doesn’t pay with cash so it doesn’t get under the Criminal Code, as gambling is still illegal in Japan. Pachinko is popular in Japan since the 20th century – but the industry’s income started to fall last year, with the new generation turn to online gambling.
Online Gambling in Japan
Although gambling is still illegal in Japan, players easily use online casinos with servers hosted in other countries. And this has become really popular in Japan in the past several years. Japanese people love to play slot games, which is why you see so many pachinko parlors around the country, although since the modern era turned to online casinos. The feature of Japanese gambling, pachinko has become one of the most popular online casino games in the country. Accessing online casinos, the Japanese people still enjoy slot games, live casinos, table games, roulette, and many other casino games.
Casinos are set to become a major part of Japanese tourism culture in the near future. Tourists’ resorts include hotels and casinos with shopping arenas, entertainment shows, theme parks, and fine dining. The legalization of these resorts happened in 2016 and 2018. The government argued about the fact that land-based casinos could lead to addiction, and because Japanese people aren’t used to gambling. But people in Japan aren’t unfamiliar with gambling, as the government will focus on responsible gambling now, adapting to some strict rules, including limiting Japanese people to a maximum number of visits/month.
Gambling is illegal in Japan, but the laws are trying to adopt new regulations, easing up the ban on casinos in the future. Tourists must be aware of the strict regulations here more than in any other country across the world. So, if you are visiting Japan, you must understand the laws completely.
Pachinko locations are almost in every corner of the country, so you will still have a great Japanese gambling experience, especially if it’s not exceeding the law’s regulations. Just don’t be too enthusiastic about winning cash! Maybe one day you will be able to visit a land-based casino in Japan and play for real money. Until then, you can try accessing online casino websites and enjoy your most favorite casino games.
For sure, Japan has seen a rise in the gambling industry, but however, it has already become popular in the past several years. In Japan, people like to hit the “casinos” after work, which has made the government reconsider their thoughts about regulating gambling, as much as possible. It has become a hugely popular activity for Japanese society. But people are already used to sign up for online casino websites since they can’t gamble for major bonuses and promotions. But luckily, there are many online websites that can help gamblers increase their chance to win. Gambling on smartphones has also increased its popularity.
In one way or another, gambling in Japan offered entertainment for citizens since forever. Now, modern forms of gambling have been adopted in Japan, but the only ones that are allowed in the country are horse racing, cycle racing, and online betting. But don’t worry, these come with restrictions as well. In the past decade, gambling in Japan has been very strict – but this hasn’t stopped the country from becoming a big trendsetter regarding online casino games. If you want to explore more the online casinos in Japan, you should try blackjack, poker, and slot machines.
Some people consider gambling a bad thing: but it’s important to gamble responsibly so you won’t lose yourself in the game. It really depends on how you choose to control it – everything is in your mind. To avoid transforming this entertaining activity into a nightmare, make sure to:
- Only gamble with cash you can afford spending
- Set time limit and take regular breaks
- Don’t consume too much alcohol while gambling
- Don’t gamble when you are upset
- Consider gambling an entertaining activity
- Try doing other activities besides gambling in your free time
So, there you have it – gambling can be a really fun activity if you learn how to control it.