Coin Slot Magazine - #009 - 1975 - June [International Arcade Museum]
What is missing is the legal status to make "Mechanically operated gam
ing devices 25 years or older" acceptable as bona-fide American mech
anical antiques to remove the fear of ownership and exchange, and dec
riminalize the machines. These antique slots (circa 1889-1950) are too
touchy and cumbersome to serve as productive gambling devices in any
event. Yet police confiscation and the threat of family raids continue to
make antique slot ownership a fearful thing.
The hidden population of antique slot machine ownership for enjoyment
and display is far greater than you could possibly imagine. Just reflect
for a moment. Do you know anyone with a slot ? Or more than one?
Add to that the many antique dealers across the country that have old
slots in the back room. I gave a talk some months back to a high school
expository writing class in a Chicago suburb, and asked if any of the
students had ever seen a slot machine. Over half of them raised their
hands. Most of them said the machines were "in the basement" or rec
room. None of these machines were operated as gambling devices, but
were only there for decoration, or for "fun", with the hosts generally
supplying the coins. This suggests that not only historians and collectors,
but a large portion of our population, are breaking gambling laws of this
country, who, then, are these laws protecting ? And should repressive
and archaic laws be on the books at all if they are so out of touch with
reality ? Certainly the professional gambling aspects of slots should be
curtailed or controlled, but mere ownership need not point the finger of
accusation at the private owner if the machine is not for public use. Pro
vision should be made for the private ownership of antique slot machines,
both for the collector and the game room enthusiast. The legal provisions
that allow antique slot machines to exist in museums in the states of
Michigan, Minnesota, Idaho, Illinois, Colorado, California, Nevada and
elsewhere should be equally applied to private non-commercial owner
ship.
Changing the laws of the land isn't an easy thing to do. For one thing,
laws aren't changed just because a narrow group wants them changed.
But they should be changed if valid reasons exist for their revision In
the interest of the public good. If private collectors in the country can
own and display Al Capone's touring car, Adolph Hitler's silver service,
John Dillinger's guns, .or even a Japanese "Zero" fighter as used at
Pearl Harbor, what possible harm to the public psyche can result from
the sale, ownership display and occasional play of an antique coin-
operated mechanical aaming device 25 years old or older ? The obvious
answer is none, and therein is valid reason enough to reconsider the
laws that make such private ownership and enjoyment impossible. But
it takes more than one voice in the wilderness to be heard. It will take
all of us; the collectors, the dealers, and the game room enthusiasts to
get these laws changed, and to do that a plan is needed.
om
m.c
:
u
m
e
d fro de-mus
e
d
Clarify Federal,
State
local laws across the country to
loa and
ca and what
n where
ar under
indicate
"special situations" private
.
w
o
w
D
w buy, sell, own and display antique gaming
individuals
can
w
/
/
: with the same legal permission and protection
machines
http public
afforded
museums.
What is heeded to protect remaining antique machines, as well as their
owners, is a five-way program to:
1.
.2.
Revise existing Federal, State and local anti-gambling laws
to retain control over exploitive public gambling by continu
ing to limit and tax mechanical gaming machines placed on
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/