Keirin, meaning “racing wheels”, is a track cycling event that originated in Japan in 1948 and gained Olympic status at the 2000 Sydney games. The sport was born from the aftermath of the second world war, when Japan’s economy was at an all time low and the country was recovering from the ravages of battle.

In order to help regenerate local economies and to circulate money the government built numerous Keirin racing velodromes around the country. The government also licensed the sport for gambling as a means of enticing more money out of it’s citizens to contribute towards Japan’s post-war reconstruction.

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Pachinko (パチンコ) is a pinball-like game used for amusement and gambling that is claimed to be the single most popular leisure activity in Japan. It is played in garishly decorated gambling establishments called ‘pachinko parlors’ which are usually located in prime retail areas.

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The pachinko machine is an upright gaming device that is a combination of a pinball machine and a video slot machine. Steel balls are propelled into a maze of spinning wheels, a forest of bumper-action pins, and bonus pockets. Lights flash, bells ring and music plays when balls trigger the jackpot, earning extra playing balls. When players score, the machine hits so-called “fever” state, spitting out piles of tiny metallic balls – sometimes thousands at a time, which winners eagerly catch in trays.

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The word “pachinko” has existed since the Meiji Era and refers to something shot out of a catapult. “Pachin” is the onomatopoeia for “snap”, “click” or “crack,” and “ko” means “ball.” The game is believed to be derived from the children’s toy called “corinth game” (コリントゲーム), an upright version of pinball minus the flippers. Another theory attributes the game’s origins to a surplus of metal ball bearings in Japan after World War I.

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Gambling in Japan is generally banned by the Criminal Code, however there are several exceptions such as betting on horse racing and public sports like keirin. The pachinko market operates within a grey area. Article 23 of the Entertainment and Amusement Trades Rationalisation Act specifically prohibits pachinko parlors from providing cash or marketable securities as merchandise, or buying back goods that were offered to the customer. To get around the law, winning players can exchange balls into token prizes from the pachinko parlour which can then be taken outside and traded in for cash at a business that is nominally separate from the parlor.