Game arcade operator found guilty of fraud by rigging claw machines

The machines are rigged to a soft grip or grip-and-release, these are programmed to grip with full force only after a certain number of attempts, sometimes it is also combined with delayed response on the controls itself. If the ratio of winning against losing is zero - then that is cheating - BUT these claw machines are not regulated, and the case on issue is based on the actions of the manager and staff - not the machine. I used to do this as a hobby and stress reliever and learned that chances of winning depends on ones experience on the game and familiarity with the machine; there are arcades that are a waste of time because their machines are programmed with a very high number of fail before it gives a price. Your chances of winning from a direct grab is very low, the trick is to study the movement, width and tension of the claw when it is open, then use that info to move the item around by nudging it one step at a time to the drop hole - That's the time you mentally calculate if the item is still worth 10 or 20 attempts - else just go buy it from a store. Some machines are rigged from the controls itself so that it overshoots or responds later than your movement, you have to be really good to adjust to that rigging. Some arcades are ok, and allow you to request to reposition the item closer. Newly opened arcades, just like new pachinkos will make you win on the first few weeks. :)

Ive just done a quick calculation its about £8482 (1.23M yen) @ £35 a go so they must have played it about 243 times. I am just lost for words, are people that stupid to spend that much on a silly game? just go out and buy it it will work out cheaper in the long run, as for the club owner they should have not rigged it so steeply in there favour they should allow some one to win, Ive tried to educate my son over the years and as a business person these amusement arcades are set up for one thing only, and that to make money, the odds are NEVER in your favour, ive told him that you are paying for entertainment whilst your in there, and its the same for gambling from time to time you may win a bit, but in general the house will always win over time, there may be cases that casinos have gone bankrupt but ive never heard of one, which just proves my point.

If you're going to imprison this guy, you've got to imprison all arcade operators!

Read the article again, its a suspended sentence, nobody is getting imprisoned.

Although this is a douchy thing to do, again I'm frustrated with the absurdity of punishment in Japan. This guy actually gets jailtime - the mangaka who had kiddie porn got a small fine. Priorities...

It's about making money--not giving it away.

My daughter played one time at a local mall, and she grabbed a big Snoopy stuffed doll on her first try. I think the game was 300 yen to play, I doubt the Snoopy cost more than 100 yen to buy in bulk.

Sentenced to three years in prison... suspended for four.

The guy committed fraud, lied and stole money and all the punishment he received was a simple "slap on the wrist, don't do it again."

The ruling said Odaira, together with his employees, defrauded the victims by encouraging them to play more by telling them all the money they had spent would be wasted if they did not make further attempts, according to the ruling.

Playing to the sunk cost fallacy that lurks within all our brains. One of the worst feelings you have is when you've wasted money, so in order to prevent that from occurring people can easily be convinced to throw good money after bad, even when the rational decision is to just walk away.

These games are such a rip-off they really should be banned, or at least be regulated to minimize this kind of chicanery.

Really? Would never have believed it!

All these machines are rigged. The claws are so feeble they couldn't hold a feather.

Japan feels like a safer place today.

I'm with Reckless. Even if the rigging is obvious to rational adults, that does not mean everyone including children is rational.

I say this as someone posting on an online forum for a dopamine hit.

WUT? 1.23 million yen over 8 persons?

Thats 150000 yen a person give or take. They could buy a (maybe 2) new product(s) for that.

Anyway the owner is getting punished heavier than some of the other more heinous criminals ive seen on JT.

Even if not rigged, but very difficult, by the time you win one by chance, you could have just bought it at the store for cheaper and less hassle. It's not as though you're wagering 5000yen a dozen times in order to win a new car or something life changing.

Never played them. Just looks too difficult.

Yea aren't all these machines rigged so that they give little to no payouts, like ever?

I don't think this is that big of a revelation.

Better off just going to Daiso, Flets, or Seria.

Every time you drop a Y100 coin, you get a prize!

These machines are set up so they will not give prizes. The only ones that do give prizes are the ones with cheap garbage toys in them. The ones with PlayStations and other expensive prizes never give prizes. “A fool and his money are easily parted.”

I thought they were all rigged

Exactly what I was going to say...they're all rigged!! The springs in the claw are so weak, they probably wouldn't be able to hold a feather. If you're going to imprison this guy, you've got to imprison all arcade operators!

P-A-C-H-I-N-G-K-O ! I Won! (Keeps wishing, hoping and dreaming...forever and ever..)

I did not know there were machines that cost 5,000 yen to play. Really?

I thought they were all rigged