51 replies to this topic

[ziggy]

What is the legal maximium ammount of £500 B3, type machine any one arcade can site at once ?

I used to think it was 4, but if it is there are a few naughty people round here sited FAR more than that.

Any industry peeps out there that could confirm this ?

Whilst on the subject, i know i have mentioned this to a few people but its still happening,

Kebab shop,Fruit machine, £25 jackpot, Vivid------ Legal or ILLEGAL ???

[DnM]

My local arcade has 6x £500's, but they only have 4 switched on, the other 2 have signs on saying "This machine is working, please contact a member of staff if you wish to play"

Apparently they paid £1000's for the machines and the market has dropped considerably since the new laws were introduced so they're just not willing to sell them off at a huge loss.

I have noticed a lot of the bigger arcades with more than 4, the big one in Southport has different sections with 4 in each, presumably they've just built a fence and now class it as a different premises

[ziggy]

I thought someone in the industry would answer this.Seems like a grey area then with some arcades having over 10 ( Glasgow city centre ) and some having the standard 4.

As usual with these things its all a bit hush hush.

[stanmarsh14]

I have noticed in some Quicksilver (RAL) places where they have more than the standard four, but they have full partition walls to make the place look like more than one arcade.

The Quicksilver @ both Green Lane, and the one near the old Market Hall in Derby are like this.

[Winnie]

I queried this with the gambling commission and they said that the official line is that they can have 4 £500 machines per premises licence and no more. However, it is at the discretion of the local council whether or not a single premises is granted multiple premises licences.

The gambling commission has now accepted that this is a grey area and are conducting a review.

Split premises and primary gambling activity · Gambling Commission

It is a subject close to my heart as I strongly believe that these machines should not be in arcades at all, they exist purely to prey on the weak and the vulnerable. They should be restricted to casinos and possibly betting offices.

[ForYouToEnvy]

Well winnie im guessing you dont like amusement arcades much, most arcades would close without b3's as between 60 and 90 percent of taking come from them, also what about bookies and bingo halls that have b3's eh?
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As for the number of b3's an arcade can have its 4 per licensed partition. . .the arcade with 6(2 off with signs to see staff) is against the law and they will have machines confascated and big fines if caught/reported.

[MORGAN86]

My arcade has 8 all on, but they had to build a partition between them its pathetic lookin but 4 are seperate from the other 4 and i believe the 4 in the partioned area have there own amusement lisence.

[spikescot2005]

My local arcade in Glasgow has 12. All on and with a fence seperating them.

[spa]

Well winnie im guessing you dont like amusement arcades much, most arcades would close without b3's as between 60 and 90 percent of taking come from them, also what about bookies and bingo halls that have b3's eh?
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As for the number of b3's an arcade can have its 4 per licensed partition. . .the arcade with 6(2 off with signs to see staff) is against the law and they will have machines confascated and big fines if caught/reported.

And the old issue is, how did they cope before? It's all about greed. They used to make a lot of money, now they make so much more.

[ForYouToEnvy]

Not realy cardie, arcades are not as busy now as they used to be, home game consols have taken video games out of arcades(i can remember when i was a kid more people played videos then fruities)
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we have a good selection of 5p/10p/20p/25p/30p machines that take very little money, people ignore them to play b3's, that tells me they prefer b3's to lower stake machines.
Just my opinion from what i've seen in the arcades i work in

[ForYouToEnvy]

Oops post above was a reply to spa's post (sorry cardie)

[Bencrest]

Well winnie im guessing you dont like amusement arcades much, most arcades would close without b3's as between 60 and 90 percent of taking come from them, also what about bookies and bingo halls that have b3's eh?

About the most inaccurate statement ever.

£1000 into a cat.B3 will typically yield £80>100 profit, before all other costs are taken into account.

£1000 into an AWP will typically yield £220>300 profit. With AWPs commonly now offering methods of increasing speed of gameplay (pre-game-gambles, 50p enhanced stakes), you can't oversimplify and think 'B3 makes loads because people lose loads in them', because the machine will still pay out say 90>92% overall, possibly 22% more than a standard cat.C machine over the long term.

In effect, assuming the AWP is on a super-skanky 70% payout, for a B3 to take the same money as the AWP, it would have to take 3x as much.

Admittedly it varies depending on the location, clientelle, e.t.c.

[ForYouToEnvy]

AWP's dont have 1000's pumped through them in a week, b3's do so as i said b3's are 70 to 90 percent of takings (at least they are in the arcades i work in)

[jamesb99_1999]

You are both right - Ben's right about the percentages, but the big difference is the speed the B3s eat the money.. You can see £100 dissapear in minutes on a B3 where it's nowhere near as quick on a AWP -- so I can appreciate they do make most of the profit. In fact I believe Nails said exactly the same thing in a thread quite recently.

[skabaz]

b3's definitly make the money for the arcade owner.


baz

[lincs1]

b3's definitly make the money for the arcade owner.


baz

years ago it used to be pushers n swagger machines but yep baz is correct on this B3 are now in the running for top takers

[Richard]

yep the machines that get played are the £500's not the £35/5's everyone is seeking that £500 payout, that so rarely comes.... although saying arcades would go bust without them is another thing - people would just play something else instead if they hadn't the option to play the £500's.... yes the bookies have the £500's but alot of people that go to arcades won't play in bookies...

[spa]

Not realy cardie, arcades are not as busy now as they used to be, home game consols have taken video games out of arcades(i can remember when i was a kid more people played videos then fruities)
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we have a good selection of 5p/10p/20p/25p/30p machines that take very little money, people ignore them to play b3's, that tells me they prefer b3's to lower stake machines.
Just my opinion from what i've seen in the arcades i work in

Well even now alot of the family areas are still fairly packed out with people playing pushers, grabbers etc.

The over 18 sections are not, too many people getting burn't with too high stakes and crap % returns.

[Winnie]

I don't object to arcades per se. I think they should be restored to their former AWP status. In my opinion the B3 machines are drawing people into the misery of gambling who would not normally be.

Like I said, the Gambling Act 2005 is supposed to protect the weak and the vulnerable and I think this loophole should be closed. I stand by my view that B3 machines should not be allowed in arcades at all but if the law says they can have 4 then so be it. But the exploitation of the loophole is driven by pure greed. I would like to see the jackpot reduced to £10 and the stake to 20p.

I used to enjoy playing in arcades and it was a fairly controllable pleasure. I had a dalliance with the old S16 machines and quickly realised that they weren't "AWP" but proper, hardcore gambling machines which isn't my cup of tea.

I have been sickened on many occasions by the stories and observations of people spending their month's wages, etc in one of these machines in less than an hour. These are the people who need protecting from themselves.

I have already reported a number of arcades to the Gambling Commission and the local councils and am pleased that the commission have recognised that this is an issue.

Let us hope that the review does the right thing and defines "premises" as one single outlet as any reasonable person would expect.

I make no apologies to arcade owners on here. Alcohol and cigarettes are controlled to protect people and gambling is no different. Arcades should come up with new ways of attracting and retaining customers rather than just trying to fleece as much out of them in a single visit as possible.