Scratchy

About Scratchy

The sheer scale of pachinko underscores Japan’s complex relationship with gambling. Valued at around $130 billion in 2020, the industry represented roughly 2.5% of Japan’s GDP, highlighting its significant place in the country’s leisure economy.

Developers could absolutely take away lessons on entertainment and engaging the local audience from this longstanding tradition.

Perhaps casinos in Japan could be more slot-heavy, suggests Leckert. “It’s obvious that, culturally, the Japanese have enjoyed playing these machines. Slots might be more successful in Japan than in Macau or Singapore.”

About Scratchy

The regulator of gambling in New Zealand announced on Friday that the funds returned by operators will be directed towards community organisations.

Under Section 106 of New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003, a class 4 licence holder, also known as a “corporate society” by the regulator, “must apply or distribute the net proceeds from class 4 gambling only to or for an authorised purpose specified in the corporate society’s licence”.

The DIA worked directly with class 4 gambling operators (commonly known as pokies trusts), and discovered ‘widespread issues’ such as cases where money that should have been available for community grants was instead spent on society expenses, such as the purchase of additional gaming machines.

What is Scratchy?

The Commission’s investigation into what constitutes “informed choice” in gambling involved a multi-method approach. 

Researchers conducted a rapid desk review of 53 relevant sources, three deliberative focus groups segmented by gambling product type (sports betting, online casino/slots and land-based gambling) and four in-depth interviews with people identified as being at higher risk of harm (Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of 8 or more). 

A total of 22 participants were purposely recruited to provide detailed insights.