No abstract

Background. The mobile game market has been rapidly growing worldwide, especially in Japan. Because mobile games often use a free-to-play business model that involves additional in-game purchases, some monetary and event mechanics of mobile games have been controversial in Japan. Purpose. This study explored the long-term effects of monetary and event features of game mechanics on pathological gaming, weekly exposure and monthly expenditure among teenagers and young adults in Japan. Method. A total of 948 teenagers and young adults participated two surveys in November 2013 and in May 2014. Pathological gaming, weekly game exposure, monthly expenditure and preference for gambling were measured. The participants listed up to three games they played, and their monetary and event mechanics were analysed using content analysis. The degrees of exposure to each mechanics were calculated by combining the content analysis with a longitudinal study. Results. Players who were exposed to a higher amount of limited-time only gacha, a virtual lottery machine, were likely to spend more money six months

It has been reported that Japan may have many disordered pachinko/ pachislot players, and taking some countermeasures is required. This study proposes high-risk limits, an index developed by employing a calculating method of low-risk limits to identify disordered players and to contribute to the development of countermeasures. High-risk limits can be established by gambling disorder scale items and participation levels measured in a population survey. The study preliminarily examined how different high-risk limits could be established by using three commonly used scales: SOGS, PGSI and DSM-5. The sample comprised 522 registered panel members for a web survey company, who lived in the Tokyo metropolitan area and played pachinko/pachislot in the last year. They answered items on three gambling disorder scales and four types of participation, such as average monthly loss. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the three scales had same optimal limits for high-risk participation: average monthly loss of 20,000-50,000 JPY and the average monthly loss/yearly household income of 0.003-0.005. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that high-risk participation predicted the disorder irrespective of demographics. The results of this study suggested that high-risk limits can be established using the disorder scales commonly used in prevalence surveys.

To understand individuals' pachinko/pachislot playing behavior, one of the major games in Japan, we conducted a national study of Japanese residents between 18 and 79 years old. From resident records, in which all Japanese citizens are registered, 9,000 individuals were chosen by the two-stage stratified random sampling method. The number of individuals who submitted valid responses was 5,060 (response rate: 56.2%). The analysis result indicated that 582 (11.5%) played pachinko/pachislot in the last 12 months ("past-year players"). Compared to "non-players" (those who never played pachinko/pachislot before or did not play in the last 12 months), past-year players had higher 12-month participation rates in all 10 gambling activities other than pachinko/pachislot. To compare demographic variables between the past-year players and non-players, χ2 tests were carried out. The tests discovered that past-year players were more likely to be males in their 30s, junior high school graduates, and making a similar annual household income to the median value for all respondents. Next, demographic variables were compared for each participation level and significant differences between age groups were found; participants in their 60s and 70s visited pachinko/pachislot parlors more frequently than those in their 20s to 40s. This is the first study to reveal the details of pachinko/pachislot playing behavior in Japan.RésuméUne enquête nationale a été menée auprès de résidents japonais âgés de 18 à 79 ans dans le but d’étudier le comportement des joueurs de pachinko/pachislot, l’un des principaux jeux pratiqués au Japon. À partir du registre de déclaration de résidence, auquel tous les citoyens du pays sont inscrits, 9000 personnes ont été sélectionnées en suivant la méthode d’échantillonnage aléatoire stratifié en deux étapes. Sur ce nombre, 5060 ont donné des réponses valides (taux de réponse : 56,2 %). Selon les résultats, 582 (11,5 %) ont joué au pachinko/pachislot dans les 12 derniers mois (« joueurs de l’année précédente »). Comparativement aux « non-joueurs » (à savoir ceux qui n’ont jamais pratiqué ce jeu dans le passé ou au cours des 12 derniers mois), les joueurs de l’année précédente affichent sur 12 mois des taux de participation plus élevés à 10 autres activités de jeux de hasard outre le pachinko/pachislot. Des tests de chi-square ont été réalisés en vue de comparer les variables démographiques entre les joueurs de l’année précédente et les non-joueurs. Les premiers étaient plus susceptibles d’être des hommes dans la trentaine et des diplômés des écoles intermédiaires, dont le revenu familial annuel se rapprochait de la valeur médiane pour l’ensemble des répondants. Les variables démographiques ont été comparées pour chaque niveau de participation, faisant apparaître des différences notables entre les groupes d’âge : les sexagénaires et les septuagénaires fréquentaient les maisons de pachinko/pachislot plus souvent que les générations de la vingtaine à la quarantaine. Cette étude est la toute première à révéler des détails sur les habitudes de jeux de pachinko/pachislot au Japon.

To understand the reality of gambling disorder caused by playing pachinko/pachislot, a national pachinko/pachislot survey was conducted. Based on the survey result, we examined the appearance ratio and the characteristics of individuals with a suspected pachinko-pachislot playing disorder. The analysis result indicated that approximately 0.4% of survey respondents were suspected to have the disorder. This appearance ratio was comparable to the prevalence of gambling disorder in the general population. Those who had a suspected disorder were likely to be divorced, and have no savings. Meanwhile, no distinctive characteristics were found in their gender, annual household income, or the highest educational attainment.