Thai Law Now Classifies Claw Machines as ‘Gambling Equipment’ Amid Police Crackdown

Thai law now stipulates that claw machines, also known as crane grabbers, are “gambling equipment,” and cannot be installed without special permits.

The Thai media outlet Matichon Online reported that the country’s Interior Ministry has informed the police force about the legal change.

The ministry urged police chiefs to “expedite notifications” to claw machine operators who have installed their devices in shopping malls and markets.

Arsit Sampantharat, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, sent Police General Kittirat Phanphet, the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, notice that claw machines are now classified as “gambling devices.” The government has updated the terms of the country’s Gambling Act accordingly.

The machines are very popular in many parts of Thailand, where players typically pay 10 baht ($0.32) per game.

Thai Claw Machines Designated as ‘Gambling Devices’

Claw machines have courted controversy in recent years, however. Some have complained that many machines advertise guaranteed prizes, but often fail to deliver on these promises.

The ministry noted that operators who install claw machines without a valid permit could now face criminal prosecution. Offenders will face up to two years in jail.

Courts can also issue illegal operators with fines of up to 2,000 baht ($63) per machine.

The ministry asked police to ensure department store operators, mall owners, and other retail sector industries know that allowing claw machines to operate on their premises could be considered an offense.

The Thai government explained its rationale. It said that “because there is a win-lose relationship between the player and the owner of the machine,” playing claw machines is tantamount to gambling.

Claw Machine Crackdown

The development comes just four months after police in Nakhon Si Thammarat began seizing claw machines. Officers claimed the devices were forming gambling-like behavior patterns in schoolchildren.

Parents in the region said their children were spending most or all of their pocket money on the devices.

A Nakhon Si Thammarat police spokesperson said that many owners install the devices without obtaining or displaying ownership identification.

Also this month, police in Phitsanulok Province’s Wang Thong District raided a suspected gambling den hidden in an outdoor shelter next to a rubber plantation.

Officers think that the den’s operators used a mechanical device hidden inside the base of a HiLo table. This allowed them to secretly manipulate the dice movements, police said.

This remote control-powered, magnetized mechanism, police said, allowed operators to rig games to ensure that certain bettors lost.