Bingo in Japan
View PDF | Print View | Html View
Written by: stickystebee
Total views: 1 |
Word Count: 394 |
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 2009 |
0 comments
Although bingo is not usually associated with Japan, it is becoming progressively more popular though as a computer game rather than a form of gambling. This is because gambling in Japan is subject to severe restrictions and for the most part it is banned. The only allowed forms of gambling are sports betting, lotteries, of which there are two forms: Public lotteries and Toto which is similar to the Football Pools in the UK.
A favourite game amongst the Japanese is Pachinko, a semi-gambling game. This is a kind of pinball game that is played in what are called Pachinko parlours. They look like the Slots areas of casinos, and consist of line after line of machines down long corridors. At certain times of the day there is a player at practically every one and you see them collecting metal balls in buckets as they manipulate the machine controls. To begin, the player purchases a bucket of balls which he loads into the machine. As the balls fall through the machine they move various levers and cause reels to rotate similar to a normal slot machine. Bonuses are awarded for various outcomes and the payout is in more metal balls. When the player has finished playing he cashes in his balls. Due to the strict gambling laws mentioned above, the balls cannot be exchanged for cash but the player receives a prize. This might be a cheap toy such as a teddy bear of a model. Adjacent to the Pachinko parlour there will be a shop that purchases the same prizes, that is the teddy bear or model, for cash and that is where the player will head.
As the Japanese people clearly have a taste for gambling and certain forms of it are permitted along with the fact that Pachinko, a form of gambling that masquerades as not being so, is tolerated, there is pressure on the government to relax the gambling laws. Ongoing discussions suggest that the government will permit online casinos within the next year or so. When this happens Bingo will undoubtedly become part of the Japanese scene.
About the Author
Although bingo is not usually associated with Japan, it is becoming progressively more popular though as a computer game rather than a form of gambling. This is because gambling in Japan is subject to severe restrictions and for the most part it is banned. The only allowed forms of gambling are sports betting, lotteries, of which there are two forms: Public lotteries and Toto which is similar to the Football Pools in the UK.
Rating: Not yet rated
