Are You a Pinball Zombie!
The
pinball arcade occupies a famous spot in American history. The
coin-operated industry (jukeboxes, pinball machines, slots, and gumball
machines) had their roots in gambling. Most states had laws against (or
heavily regulated) gambling, but manufactures found ways around those
restrictions. Gumball machines, for instance, gave gum as a prize
instead of cash.
Pinball machines were a governmental topic of
discussion from the beginning as to whether they were games of chance,
and therefore gambling devices. As early as 1934 pro-pinball enthusiasts
argued that pinball was a game of skill, not a gambling device. The
first highly publicized attack against pinball came in 1942 when Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia banned pinball in New York City and ordered the
seizure of thousands of machines. He ordered his police to make pinball
raids and seizures, like those of prohibition. He was actually
photographed smashing the seized machines with a sledgehammer.
Pinball was considered a ‘pointless game," but
children were attracted to it and parents worried about the game being a
gateway to gambling. The game was considered morally corrupting and a
‘tool from the devil.’ Other large cities, including Los Angeles and
Chicago, followed New York City’s example as bans became commonplace
across the United States.
For decades pinballs used spring launchers to propel
the ball, and then gravity took over for the rest of the game. The
invention of the flipper by Gotlieb in 1947 was the greatest benefit for
the argument of the game being a game of skill. But since pinball was
illegal in much of the country, the machines could only be placed into
non-family-friendly locations. Greenwich Village in New York City became
famous for its backroom pinball. The attraction to the game only
increased, and the image of the leather-jacket-wearing rebel as a
pinball wizard was born.
Where pinball was not illegal, governments put a paid
licensing system in place, taxing machines up to 50% and limiting the
number of machines that could be placed in one location. Machines had
signs posted on them ‘For Amusement Only.’ Some amusement parks
created tokens, which wouldn’t be confused with legal tender. PTA
groups and mothers protested at candy stores and small arcades that
housed the evil machines, fearing their children would become zombies.
California’s Supreme Court overturned the pinball
ban in 1974 and two years later New York City’s City Council voted,
after 35 years, to overturn its ban on pinball. Times changed, and
pinball arcades became sensible businesses again.
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