A Growing Concern for Slot Machine Addiction in Japan
Every country’s government has concerns about real money gambling’s impact on its citizens. Behind the glitz and glamour of any land-based casino resort or online casino website for internet gambling is the underlying problem with real money gambling in terms of addiction. Some countries are more proactive than others when it comes to developing programs that deal with this very serious issue. It is safe to say that if the issue of gambling addiction is not properly dealt with, it could end up hurting the overall casino gambling industry in the long run.
In a recent post on Nippon.com, the whole issue of gambling addiction in Japan on slot machines and pachinko machines was addressed. This was in light of the country’s recent decision to legalize land-based casinos. As a result of this new government measure, the first actual casino on Japanese soil is expected to open by the mid-2000.
Why Is There A A Growing Concern for Slot Machine Addiction in Japan?
Until now, the main form of legal gambling in Japan was through slot machines known as “pachislot” machines along with pachinko machines. According to this report, results from a recent study on gambling addiction were released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. It is estimated that 3.6 percent of the adult population will show symptoms of gambling addiction at some point in their life. This equates to 3.2 million people. The study also estimates that 0.8 percent of the adult population or 700,000 adults has demonstrated actual symptoms over the past 12 months.
The Japanese government subsidized the study which was conducted by National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center in May and June of last year. The study was presented to 10,000 randomly selected adults from ages 21 to 74. Valid responses from that group numbered 4,685 people. Among the participants interviewed, there were 158 people or 3.6 percent that had exhibited symptoms related to gambling addiction.
Further results revealed that 32 of the participants (mostly men) had shown signs of a gambling problem over the past year. The average age of this group was 46.5 and the most of their gambling took place on pachinko and/or slot machines (pachislot) . Of the 158 original responses, 123 people confirmed that this was their primary form of real money gambling.
Separate study on gambling conducted by the National Police Agency in Japan
Also mentioned in the Nippon.com report was a separate study on gambling conducted by the National Police Agency in Japan. This study found that the number of pachinko parlors in the country has been in a steady decline since 1996. There has also been a slight decline in the number of pachinko machines in light of an increase of pachislot slot machines. The net-net of this study determined that the total number of gambling machines in Japan has remained steady over the past few years. What has grown is the overall size of the pachinko parlors still in operation.
When compared to countries such as France, Italy, Germany and Canada in terms of the rate of potential gambling addiction, Japan’s rate of 3.6 percent was significantly higher. The next highest rate listed in this report was 1.9 percent for the Netherlands.
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