Automatic Age

January, 1933
A u t o m a t ic A
N ew
ge
123
J e rse y O p e ra to rs O p en
E d u c a tio n a l C a m p a ig n
D. M. Steinberg, president o f the New
Jersey Automatic Merchandisers Associa­
tion, Inc., writes as follow s:
“ W e have a condition in New Jersey that
will inevitably wreck the coin-operated
amusement industry in this state.
“ There are thousands o f small towns and
large cities that have commenced several
months ago to harass and confiscate these
games. Many police officials are giving the
amusement games their own interpretation
and concluding that it is a gambling device.
A few have been more liberal in thought
and others who were doubtful o f the legality
of these machines have resorted to the
courts. Consequently this Association to
protect the livelihood and the property o f
its members have kept an able staff o f legal
advisers at their disposal. This has been
a very costly process and a constant drain
on the treasury o f the New Jersey Auto­
matic Merchandisers Association, the funds
o f course coming from the pockets o f its
members.
“ Therefore to avert or minimize this per­
secution this Association has created a pub­
licity bureau to distribute information re­
garding the aims and purposes o f this A s­
sociation. The following letter is the fore­
runner o f this campaign and is being mailed
to every prosecutor and police chief in this
state:
THE LETTER
Dear Sir:
Due to the many conflicting opinions re­
garding coin-operated amusement games,
the New Jersey Automatic Merchandisers
Association, Incorporated, a statewide or­
ganization, felt that it was proper at this
time to clarify our position.
The members o f this Association, who
operate vending machines that merchandise
confections or service equipment as weigh­
ing scales o f course are not experiencing
the difficulty o f members who concentrate
on amusement games. They must not be
classified with the group, who unfortunate­
ly reflect on everybody in this industry,
with gambling machines or other equipment
o f a similar nature.
Members o f this Association identify
their property with an Association label.
© In te rn atio na l A rc a d e M use um
They have pledged themselves not to leave
a game within the vicinity of a school and
regardless o f location urge their customers
not to permit children under 16 years o f
age to play.
Members of this Association are inde­
pendent business men with no detrimental
affiliation. Their numbers have been aug­
mented considerably in the past year due to
the public acceptance of this type o f amuse­
ment.
Many o f these amusement games are com­
monly referred to as pin games and many
are purely games o f skill, in which the
ability, experience and deftness of touch
used by the player, controls the movement
o f the ball. These games are o f course, en­
tirely legal, and even where a prize is
awarded fo r attaining a certain score, it
is no more unlawful than the awarding of
prizes fo r the attaining o f scores in bowl­
ing, billiards or other games o f skill.
In some o f these pin games, there is a
slight element o f chane, in determining the
course o f the balls propelled by the player.
The Court o f New Jersey have held that
the test o f whether or not a machine is a
gambling device is “ does the element o f
chance enter into the determination o f what
the customer gets in return fo r what he
pays.” Pure Mint Co. vs. La Barre, 125 A t­
lantic, 105; Laff vs. Milton, Prosecutor, 126
Atlantic, 29.
Accordingly, where the machine itself o f­
fers a reward, or a prize which the player
may receive, as a result o f luck rather than
skill, it may be classed as a gambling de­
vice, if there is proof that it was used for
the purpose. Where, however, the machine
offers no prize, it is not in itself a gambling
device, since it is used solely for amuse­
ment purposes.
In the absence o f any proof of actual
gambling with the said machines, with the
knowledge and intent o f the man in posses­
sion, such machines are entirely legal, and
not subject to confiscation or criminal prose­
cution.
This principle is well recognized in New
Jersey, New York and all other states, and
was on November 22nd, 1932 enunciated by
Honorable Frederick B. Conent, Judge of
the Passaic Police Court, in dismissing a
h ttp ://w w w .a rc a d e -m u s e u m .c o m /