Arcade slammed for slot machines
- Source: Global Times
- [09:58 June 18 2010]
- Comments
By Zhang Cao
A man walks by the Yimao Game Arcade in Putuo district Thursday. Photo: Cai Xianmin
An arcade in Putuo district that was shut down last year for allowing customers to illegally gamble was raided again last Friday, with police confiscating 30 slot machines, authorities announced Thursday.
After local police were tipped off by residents complaining about the Yimao Game Arcade providing a means for the illegal activity, authorities from the Putuo branch of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau swept the arcade located on the first floor of the Bailian Zhonghuan Commerce Plaza.
Forty-five machines believed to be illegal gambling machines were removed and sent to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture Radio Film and TV (SMACRFT) the next day for identification.
A man surnamed Pan from SMACRFT, in charge of identifying the machines, told the Global Times Thursday that 30 of the machines were found to be gambling machines.
"The machines are a mix of different types of gambling machines," he said. "Since gambling is illegal in China, these machines are not allowed to be placed in the arcade."
No additional details on the case are being released at the moment, according to Gu Xiaomao, director of the press office of the Putuo branch of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, who spoke with the Global Times Thursday.
The case follows a similar incident last year, when the place was closed for operating with illegal gambling machines in November. Officials allowed the arcade to reopen this March.
As of Thursday afternoon, a machine that looked like a slot machine with a sign that read "broken" taped to the top was visible to customers when this undercover Global Times reporter and her photographer visited the arcade.
Shortly after, two local policemen showed up, taking photographs of the machine in question, and sniffing around at some of the rooms in the arcade. The officers told this Global Times reporter that they saw no illegal gambling machines, but failed to check behind a locked door next to the washroom.
The officers were unwilling to comment further on the nature of the inspection, which follows a report on Wednesday by Shanghai East News Radio, which said a player surnamed Wang lost some 80,000 yuan ($11,704) at the arcade this year and some 20,000 yuan ($2,926) last year.
After police left the arcade, the photographer accompanying this reporter began snapping photos of the "out of order" machine. This reporter and photographer were consequently taken into a small room for questioning by arcade employees - and released some 40 minutes later, after all photos were deleted.
According to Chinese law, individuals caught operating illegal gambling activities can be sentenced for up to three years in prison, Yao Jianguo, from the Shanghai Puruo Law Firm, told the Global Times Thursday.
"Operating tens of gambling machines is definitely a severe violation of the law," he added.
But in the case of the arcade, it is likely the owners escaped jail time last year by agreeing to pay substantial fines, he said.
