Children are particularly vulnerable to gaming machines addiction. It was reported in 1991 that high spending and frequent use of fruit machines was reliably associated with socially undesirable behaviour like borrowing money, stealing from parents, and even selling possessions to finance the habit.
In the United Kingdom, under-16s, and sometimes under-18s, are supposed to be barred from arcades, although these restrictions do not apply in seaside towns or to machines outside arcades. A 1991 survey suggested, nevertheless, that nearly half a million 13 to 16-year-olds visited arcades once a week or more, and that another half million played fruit machines outside arcades at least once a week. More than one in three of the 11 to 12-year-olds surveyed used fruit machines. Most regular gamblers were boys.
Arcades are like miniature casinos. You don't get much daylight, so you forget about time. The machine keeps flashing up things which give you more hope. The fact that you could win money just by putting in a little bit is fascinating. You have to keep on trying. The whole thing is designed to hypnotise you.
It's somewhere for kids to skive if they're not learning much at school, or if their parents don't give them much space at home.
The very small proportion of young people who have gambling problems generally have family backgrounds which are the underlying cause of those problems.
We can't say fruit machines are terrible. We have got to face the fact that they're out there and that kids are going to play them. But they should know that they chew up money.