Following some news that came yesterday about Penang potentially clamping down on arcade outlets; we’ve discovered it’s not nearly as serious as we initially thought.
Initially, it was announced that Penang will be enforcing a ban on all sorts of gaming simulator machines in all premises. The statement was a bit vague on what the machines actually were, but declared that they will stop issuing new licenses for the like by the end of 2018. Locations who already have licenses, won’t be allowed to renew them once they expire.
So it did look like Penang was in fact, going to put a stop to arcade centers, which tends to be home to a lot of different arcade games, including gashapon and/or claw machines. The reasoning behind it was that youths were spending money and time on the addictive games.
But as it turns out, the ban doesn’t extend to claw and your average arcade machine. With some new clarifications, the ban actually settles on “games of chance” and other related machines you could gamble on. The cut-down on gambling certainly isn’t a new thing, so this doesn’t come as a surprise either.
So breathe easy, your Initial D and Pokemon Tretta is safe, and hopefully for a long time to come.
