TOKYO (TR) – The number of pachinko hall operators in Japan continues to hemorrhage, dropping to just 1,130 in 2025, but the industry’s survivors are raking in the cash.
Driven by a post-pandemic return of players and highly popular new machines, total revenue climbed to 12.04 trillion yen, marking a second consecutive year of growth, reports Teikoku Databank (Aug. 6).
According to recent 2025 data, the 1,130 registered operators represent a 5.9 percent drop from the previous year. The plunge is even more staggering over the past decade — down 54.7 percent from the 2,492 companies operating in 2016. A relentless wave of mergers, acquisitions and forced closures has aggressively weeded out weaker players in Japan’s iconic gaming and gambling sector.
Smaslot
Despite the dwindling number of corporate operators, the cash continues to flow. Total revenue jumped 2.8 percent from the previous year, surpassing the 12-trillion-yen mark for the first time since the early pandemic days of 2020.
Industry analysts attribute the financial rebound to a steady return of customers, coupled with the massive success of “Smart Pachislo” (Smaslot). Introduced in 2022, the next-generation, medal-less machines offer diverse and engaging gameplay that has reinvigorated the parlor floors.
The financial health of the surviving operators is also stabilizing. Of 412 companies whose financial records were analyzed, 71.6 percent reported operating in the black. This marks the third consecutive year that over half of the operators were profitable, successfully returning to pre-pandemic levels for the first time in five years.
Distress on horizon
However, a stark divide remains in the industry’s underbelly. Among the operators still bleeding money, 54.7 percent have posted consecutive annual losses, squeezed heavily by skyrocketing electricity rates and rising labor costs.
While outright bankruptcies hit a near-historic low of just 16 cases in 2025 — down 30.4 percent from the previous year — dark clouds are already gathering. By June of 2026, 14 operators had already gone belly up, signaling a renewed wave of financial distress on the horizon.
To combat the ongoing exodus of traditional fans, the multibillion-dollar industry is scrambling to clean up its image and modernize. As the wave of corporate consolidation begins to slow, operators are betting heavily on the rollout of cashless payment systems and the development of new, highly engaging machines to compete with the booming smartphone gaming market.
