Under the initiative, the maximum pachinko profit for an average playing time of four hours will be set at below ¥50,000 from the current level of more than ¥100,000, sources said. The NPA is expected to apply similar regulations to slot machines.
The agency hopes players will refrain from being too enthusiastic about winning back losses. The NPA was planning Tuesday to announce a draft for partial revisions of regulations under the law on entertainment businesses and call for public opinions, the sources said.
According to the NPA, around 70 % of the people who consulted with Recovery Support Network, a nonprofit organization offering advice mainly to those addicted to pachinko, lost at least ¥50,000 per month.
The draft will seek a new standard in which the maximum number of pachinko balls that can be won in four hours would be 1.5 times the number used, about a third less than the current limit, the sources said. It would also decrease the maximum number of pachinko balls in a jackpot from the current 2,400, equivalent to some ¥9,600, to 1,500, worth about ¥6,000.
The NPA plans to call for pachinko parlour managers to instruct and educate employees about addiction problems and provide related information to customers. The number of pachinko parlours across the country declined to 10,986 in 2016 from a peak of 18,244 in 1995, according to the agency.
Source: GMB / Innovate Gaming / Japan Times.co
