Mechanical Memories Magazine

The 1968 Gaming Act caused concern for Jamieson Automatics as it did for many, but
having come out the other side of it, they decided to dip their toe in the international
market exhibiting in Vienna, Zagreb, Moscow, Bucharest, Atlanta and Dublin, with
regular sales and visits to New Jersey, Tokyo, Denmark, Norway and Finland to name
but a few, and by this time they employed a staff of 40.
The 1971 Moscow show was arranged jointly by the DTI and Alan Willis
(BACT A) and involved companies from the UK including Streets, Cromptons,
Mayfield Diamond, Rollites and Jamieson Automatics. To say Moscow was an eye-
opener was somewhat of an understatement!! They all spent three weeks in August at
the Ismailovsky Amusement Park, which was an historic 'Royal' estate, exhibiting for
three hours a day only to Russian dignitaries. Of course these Russian dignitaries soon
realised the exhibitors could be 'used' to demonstrate their products to the general
public who in turn would play the machines with their own money. They were then
allowed to exhibit 4 hours a day with the exhibitors acting like amusement arcades. A
50/50 split with the Russians was agreed with them keeping the keys but emptying the
machines in the presence of the exhibitors.
Ian Jamieson on the right.
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