Law change could require claw machines to display odds and licensee details
Home affairs minister Alice Mak says higher prize value and payouts will be considered but priority is protecting customers and preventing addiction
Hong Kong authorities will consider requiring claw machine operators to display the odds of winning, while remaining open to increasing prize values and maximum payouts under proposed changes to the regulatory regime, the home affairs minister has said.
“The most important thing is to protect players and consumers, ensure they play in a safe environment, and prevent addiction,” Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen told a radio programme on Saturday. “These are our priorities.”
The government earlier this month proposed tightening oversight of claw and pinball machines and other prize-based amusement games by issuing individual licences for each one.
The legal changes would remove the requirement to hold a Places of Public Entertainment Licence when applying for an Amusements with Prizes Licence.
The High Court ruled in 2022 that claw machines were exempt from the entertainment licence, meaning they could not be regulated by the prizes permit unless the rules were amended.
Mak said that under the new regime, all claw machines would have to display their licences, the licensees’ contact details and anti-addiction slogans.