Casino News

Seasides 'losing fun factor' with decline of slot arcades

2008-12-17 07:31:24

British seasides are not as fun as they used to be due to a large number of slot arcades shutting down.

This is the opinion of Nick Harding, president of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association, who claimed that penny arcades have been a huge factor behind the success of the British seaside industry for more than a century.

"If they're not there and the shutters are down on Blackpool or Yarmouth seafront, the whole place just starts to look pretty unhappy," he remarked.

Mr Harding claimed his organisation had witnessed the closing of 150 slot machine arcades in the last six months alone and the decline has not been restricted to 2008.

Industry income is falling at a rate of £108 million per annum, while 300 full-time workers in the slot machine manufacturing sector have lost their jobs since June 2007, a reduction of 26 per cent of the entire workforce.