Ministry Keeping Slot Machines

Even amidst the furor over allowing slot machines to be placed in arcade type businesses, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has decided that they are not going to remove the machines. Slot machines, or fruit machines as they are called in Europe, have been reclassified under the new Gambling Act as Category D machines. This means they are on the same level as toy cranes, etc. that are in arcades. This also means that children can now play the slot machines and become addicted to them.

A spokeswoman for the Department said "During the passage of the Bill, ministers considered all the independent evidence available concerning children gambling and decided that the case for a total ban was not proven. However, the Gambling Act will see the removal of over 6000 [slot] machines from chip shops and taxi offices where children can play them unsupervised and will also see stakes and prizes significantly reduced. We will carefully monitor the impact of these machines and will not hesitate to use our reserve powers if there's evidence that these machines are causing harm to children."

One can only hope that their children don’t get addicted to the slot machines while they are waiting for the department to use their “reserve powers.” Experts have agreed that the slot machines are a danger to children, as anyone can pretty much tell you. However, unfortunately, the ministry has chosen not to heed the warnings and will presumably end up paying for it in the long run.

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