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.
2. 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.
2. 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.