Four hotels have been ordered to remove a kids’ gaming machine that resembled pokies. Local authorities deemed that the game was unlawful because it was a casino-style game that was targeted at children. The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing launched an investigation into the machines after a man named Marcus Punch made his concerns known in the Maitland Mercury.
Mr Punch is a father from Tenambit, who frequently visits the Bradford Hotel with his children. While he and his wife have dinner, his children stay in the play area. On a recent visit to the hotel, he noticed a game called the Amazing Road Trip, which seemed a bit too mature for his children. In this particular game, children put money into the machine and try to win one of the prizes on display.
Mr Punch said it was more closely related to a poker machine than any children’s game he’d ever seen. He noted that the only difference between the Amazing Road Trip and an adult poker machine was that the game awarded toy prizes instead of money.
In a letter to local politicians, he explained that there was little difference between the kids’ game and a pokie: “Would you tend to agree with me that such a machine transcends a boundary that separates an innocent game of skill (eg: Using a joystick to pick up a chocolate or a hairy gonk etc) and something that is merely a grooming device for adult gambling (ie: Shovelling money into a game in the off chance of having a prize/money randomly distributed to you)?”
An investigation was launched shortly after Mr Punch’s complaint was made in August 2013. Now, the hotels have removed the games. Parents who frequent the Bradford Hotel will be pleased to know that there are no more games in the play area that resemble pokies or inadvertently normalize gambling for young children.
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