The number of pachinko halls affiliated with the Japan Amusement Business Cooperation (Zennichi Yuren), a national organization of pachinko halls, was 8,063 as of 31 March, down by 647 from the same time in 2020 and 111 fewer than in February.
The number of shuttered halls increased by 74 since the end of February to 127, indicating there has been a significant rise in the number of halls closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of pachinko machines installed decreased fell by 31,568 from February and by 141,270 from March 2020 to 2,187,288 while the number of pachislot machines fell by 20,769 and 84,875 respectively to 1,421,513.
The total number of pachinko and pachislot machines installed was 3,608,838, down 226,145 from March 2020.
The number of pachinko halls has been decreasing year on year since 1995, when there were 18,244 halls in operation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this trend with not only small to medium-sized halls closing but also major industry players.
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