Hong Kong’s pinball wizards and claw fans defend arcade thrills as curbs loom
Citywide craze in pinball and claw machines has prompted authorities to consider tightening regulations to prevent addiction to the games
A Hong Kong homemaker sits alone at a pinball machine at a shopping centre in Sham Shui Po on a weekday morning, engrossed in the game for an hour before picking up her sons from school for lunch.
The 47-year-old mother-of-two, who only identified herself as Mrs Cheung, said she played pinball machines at least twice a week at Dragon Centre, including once on the weekend with her family of four as entertainment.
“We just have fun as a family and use the points we earn from the games to redeem the prizes we want,” she said. “We all enjoy it.”
The family’s favourite pastime reflects a citywide craze for pinball and claw machines, a trend growing so fast that it has prompted authorities to consider tightening regulations to prevent addiction to the games amid a debate over whether they should be viewed as gambling.
The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau earlier this week proposed amending the city’s gambling laws to require an amusements with prize licence for every individual machine, citing addiction risks associated with prize-based games.
The bureau also plans to strengthen licensing requirements by mandating entrance notices and is considering a requirement for addiction warnings to be displayed on all machines.