JAMMA is run by representatives from various arcade video game manufacturers, including Bandai Namco, Sega, Taito, Koei Tecmo, Capcom, and Konami among others.

Before 2012, JAMMA had been organizing an annual trade fair called the Amusement Machine Show for many years.

As the majority of arcade games were designed in Japan at this time, JAMMA became the de facto standard internationally.

Before the JAMMA standard, most arcade PCBs, wiring harnesses, and power supplies were custom-built.

The JAMMA standard uses a 56-pin edge connector on the board with inputs and outputs common to most video games.

The standard specifies a communication protocol based on RS-485 and physical interfaces for peripheral devices using commonly-available USB connectors and cables.