Arcade Photographs

[woody2]

[woody2]

[coppinpr]

Looks just like a Coventry auction (but with more artwork ).

[woody2]

Top one is the Isle of Man casino before opening, 2nd is a funfair in Wakefield 1970

[coppinpr]

ill add them to the lists on the penny-machines.info site if its ok with you?

[treefrog]

Can anyone name all the machines in the second photo around the rear wall? I think I can name 7, but certainly struggling with one the two people are playing on the left.

[pennymachines]

Clement & Whales Commercial or Greyhounds?

[pennymachines]

Twilight of the seaside amusement arcade
Interesting to learn that Barron's Paradium on Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth which opened in 1902 is believed to be Britain's first dedicated amusement arcade. In 2007 it became a heritage museum called 'Yesterday's World' and included a vintage amusement arcade until closing in 2014.

[moonriver]

Dr Chapman appears to be yet another academic out of touch with the real reason the amusement industry is in terminal decline.
Yet again no mention in the report of the impact of the change in the law in 2007 allowing the bookmakers a spectacular advantage over amusement arcades, to operate fixed odds betting terminal machines (programmes written themselves and no policing of the design or play or percentage control by the Gambling Commission). From day one of the change in the law bookmakers allowed to offer £2 a spin (and up to £100 bet on the same spin) at roulette and on the same day forcing amusement arcades top machines to reduce to £1 a spin with no multi bet. Additionally, arcade top machines had to be strictly enforced 'random' 92% payout. A completely unfair commercial advantage handed over to the bookmakers which has never been rectified since.
Arcade customers simply migrated to the bookmakers, inland arcades take down by 40% within weeks and bookmakers shops flourished and mushroomed across the high streets like a gold rush because they could open under any A2 office use whereas amusement arcades are under their own use class. Coastal arcades also stung by machine duty on 5p and 10p AWP's which is why everything currently operates on 2p coin.

A very sad state of affairs and something that has turned amusement into hard gambling on the high street and has forced generations of showmen out of business and ruined our amusement arcade industry.

[youngerap]

......Yet again no mention in the report of the impact of the change in the law in 2007 allowing the bookmakers a spectacular advantage over amusement arcades.....

Was a fiscal link between the betting industry and the Labour Party ever established? Hard to believe anyone could consider such a one-sided change in the Law to be fair, but there must have been some reason for it.