An illegal pachislot parlor was raided in Yokohama and three male employees arrested last week.
The three employees of the illegal shop, named “Lucky”, were arrested on the morning of 9 June. Nine customers were with them at the time, in a room of a multi-tenant building in Naka Ward.
According to police, the store is believed to have opened in early April. A total of 56 pachislot machines and JPY4.5 million (US$41,000) in cash was seized.
Naka Ward includes the area of Yamashita Wharf, the candidate area for a Yokohama IR. Parlors such as this are known in Japan as “underground slots” and unlike illegal casinos where baccarat is played in-store or online, they are equipped with pachislot machines similar to legal pachinko halls. They primarily use machines that no longer meet current regulations and have been removed from legal halls, using high variance math models that have been modified, allowing customers to gamble with higher volatility.
Most illegal gambling outfits that have been caught in recent years have offered baccarat but there have been some raids on illegal gambling spots using pachislot. Such operations are often a source of funding for organized crime groups.
The pachinko industry group Pachinko/Pachislot Industry 21st Century Association has worked with the police and issued a declaration against “rampant underground slots”, working to create awareness by distributing information forms.
