Who kept check on the operators?

American, British, French or German? We want to know about it.
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geordy55
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Who kept check on the operators?

Post by geordy55 »

Something I’ve been wondering about and, I’m sure some of our older collectors will help me with, is were there ever inspections of the operators and their machines to make sure they were not fiddling the payouts?
With stories about payout fingers being removed and award disk holes being filled up, was there ever a threat that these rogue operators would be caught fixing the odds?
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treefrog
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Re: Who kept check on the operators ?

Post by treefrog »

I would imagine, this would have only been relevant when the average payout had to be displayed, which I have no idea when this occurred, I am guessing some time in the 1970s, based on machines I have seen over the years. Given there was no minimum %, before this you could reduce to what you wanted, but let’s face it, people would walk away after a short time-frame if set too low.
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moonriver
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Re: Who kept check on the operators ?

Post by moonriver »

geordy55 wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:31 pm Something I’ve been wondering about and, I’m sure some of our older collectors will help me with, is were their ever inspections of the operators and their machines to make sure they were not fiddling the payouts ?
With stories about payout fingers being removed and award disk holes being filled up, was there ever a threat that these rogue operators would be caught fixing the odds ?
In a word.......No
pennymachines
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Re: Who kept check on the operators ?

Post by pennymachines »

The Gaming Act of 1845 declared all gambling contracts legally null and therefore unenforceable, and the Betting Act of 1853 made it illegal to operate a betting establishment. These two acts effectively banned all forms of commercial gambling, apart from horse betting, and then the Street Betting Act of 1906 was enacted to stamp out off-track betting conducted in pubs etc. which was facilitated by the new telegraphy.

Gaming machines were therefore illegal in Britain, so they weren't regulated. In the earliest period (1890s-1920s), before the establishment of the dedicated arcade, they were subject to run ins with the law, as we've discussed before. If they were believed to incorporate an element of skill, they were generally considered non-gambling, and permitted.

The end of WWI saw the beginnings of a shift in approach from outright prohibition towards regulation. Two Royal Commissions on Lotteries and Betting (1932-33 and 1949-51) informed the Betting and Gaming Act of 1960, which came into effect in January, '61, and permitted gambling in licensed betting shops and clubs.

One consequence of the Act was that the police could only visit such places with a warrant, making regulation difficult. As true gaming machines, particularly the bandits, were imported from America, and city-based operations became more profitable, some were aided and abetted by racketeering gangsters and corrupt police. This set the stage for further acts and regulation, most notably The Gaming Act of 1968.

James Callaghan, when he was Secretary of State, said:
Callaghan wrote:Serious abuses have also developed from the use of gaming machines. I do not think that in 1960 there was a clear perception of just how profitable these machines could be. Stakes are limited to 6d., but no limit is placed either on the jack-pots or the percentage of stakes which the machines can retain. This has often been quite excessive, and while the law expresses the pious contention that the profits should be used for purposes other than private gain, there is no effective means of ensuring this. The condition has been widely and flagrantly perverted, less often to the profit of the clubs themselves than of the machine dealers. Machines have been forced on premises at high rentals by protection methods, or by ingenious forms of contract designed to secure that the lion's share of the profits go to the dealer. There has been bribery and sometimes downright robbery.
Gaming Bill, Hansard, 1968

Fascinating and readable: History of Gambling in the UK Until 1960
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badpenny
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Re: Who kept check on the operators?

Post by badpenny »

I think that "Keeping an eye on the operators" was mostly done, unofficially by little boys.
Many of which had worked out the sequence of mechanical operation without ever seeing inside. If something had been done to a machine to alter its performance, they were the first to realise.

Our very own "rippyspennyarcade" has told us many fascinating tales of his youth, doing just that.
When is the latest video arriving?

BP :cool:
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