New Jersey to Treat Claw Arcade Game Like Gambling?

Many people have played the arcade claw game, but few have been successful at it. Because of the claw machine’s low success rate, one New Jersey politician wants to regulate it like gambling.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari has introduced legislation that would provide oversight over the claw game, calling on operators to adhere to state-created odds and payouts.

Scutari’s problem with the claw arcade game is that operators can set the payout odds and strength of the joystick-controlled claw to whatever they desire. This means that any operator could set the odds and claw strength extremely low just so nobody wins.

New Jersey news outlet WAGM reports that arcade industry officials are already arguing against the proposed legislation. They say that it’s in an arcade’s best interests to let players win sometimes, given that they’ll eventually stop playing if they never earn any prizes.

Many players realize that these games offer poor odds of winning, but they’re willing to play anyways.

Margie Torres of Camden, and her son Rafael Hernandez, are a couple of people who enjoy playing, regardless of the low odds.

“It’s impossible to get because when it goes, it grabs it, and when it picks it up, right when it hits the top, it just drops,” said Hernandez, who unsuccessfully tried to win a GoPro camera.

Claw games are currently exempt from gambling standards and are considered an arcade game. People nationwide love playing this game of chance, especially at the Jersey shore, where amusement parks and seaside cities regularly offer it.

The state’s Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission does provide some regulation on claw machines and other games. But what Scutari has proposed calls for claw machines to offer reasonable odds of obtaining each prize.

“Difficult is one thing, completely rigged is another,” said the state senator. “We just want to make sure it’s a level playing field.”

Edward R. McGlynn, of the New Jersey Amusement Association, disagrees with Scutari’s call for more regulation.

“Our association says the more you give away, the better it is for people, so the idea that they’re rigged is wrong,” said McGlynn.

“If you don’t give away prizes, people eventually won’t want to play the game. The commission has done an excellent job over the years in weeding out bad operators.”

No hearing has been held on Scutari’s proposal, although the matter has only recently been brought to light.