Training children to gamble?

M0les said :

I’m hereby boycotting Tunza-Fun until they get pinball machines in (Adams Family or at least any Bally/Williams ones – Data East and Gottlieb suck).
.

+1 , Addams family definately, closely followed by Guns ‘n Roses..

Pinball machines ar slowly disappearing from everywhere – even The Basements pinball machine has recently disappeared.

i dont think this shell game machine is a game of skill. its gambling.

donations to the labour club?

Is that a linked jackpot on top? Do they bring drinks? Hypnotic sounds?

Skilltester / claw machines are a scam. There was a thread about this recently at the Aussie Arcade forums. The operator sets a payout ratio (eg 11:1). You have zero chance of winning if it’s not time to pay out. When a payout is due (in the example given, when ten other suckers have put their money into the machine, and you’re the eleventh player since the last payout), there’s still a possibility of losing if the claw strength has been set low and you try to grab a toy that isn’t just sitting loose on top. A nice youTube video here. Search for ‘skill tester hacking’ for videos of people emptying these machines in short order.

I’m hereby boycotting Tunza-Fun until they get pinball machines in (Adams Family or at least any Bally/Williams ones – Data East and Gottlieb suck).

I’m fine with the kiddies’ poker machines solong as a significant proportion of the “tax on the numerically-impaired” is funnelled-into subsidising beer prices.

I’ve always thought that the claw game (or “skill tester” as it is known sometimes) is a form of gambling, mainly because the game cheats and only sometimes grips the prizes hard enough to actually pick them up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claw_crane:

“Many modern cranes use a computer to determine a payout percentage based on the operators settings, in the manner that the claw would have a strong grasp on objects only on a certain percentage of attempts.”

I wondered the same thing at the Tuggeranong Tenpin Bowl the other day,a huge machine with a spinning wheel and numbers ,no skill just the promise of a jackpot of tickets at $2.00 a pop.
To me this is absolutely gambling for kids and should be BANNED.
Gambling is for adults who can make informed decisions and even that doesn’t end well for some adults.

PINBALL FTW

The regulations to the Gaming Machine Act 2004 contain the definition of what is not a gaming machine,
Each of the following devices is not a gaming machine:
(a) a device for playing a game of skill only;
(b) an amusement device that usually involves an element of skill
and is played for entertainment only;
Example
a pinball machine
(c) a device that—
(i) is ordinarily found at fairs, fetes or shows; and
(ii) usually involves an element of skill; and
(iii) is played mainly for entertainment, whether or not a prize
is offered or given.
Example
‘Laughing clowns’ amusement machine

Having not played this game but having played similar games it is clear there is an element of skill involved.

I’m with everyone else, non issue, move on.