LCQ19: Regulating claw machine venues and pinball machine shops
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Question:
It has been reported that in recent years, claw machine venues and pinball machine shops have mushroomed in Hong Kong. Some pinball machine shops feature functions such as "odds" and "points" and offer expensive prizes to solicit business, attracting members of the public or even minors to spend entire days there, thus arousing public concern about issues such as "disguised gambling practices and addiction". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information on reports received by the authorities from members of the public regarding claw machines in each of the past five years: (i) the number of reports (including the number of cases suspected of involving (a) illegal gambling, (b) suspected counterfeit or pirated products, and (c) alleged unfair trade practices), (ii) the number of prosecutions, and (iii) the number of successful convictions (including (a) the number of arrests, (b) the number of venues and machines involved, and (c) the amount of fines);
(2) given that in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on February 12 last year, the Government indicated that the High Court has ruled that typical claw machine venues where people clamp items in the machines upon payment are no longer required to obtain a Places of Public Entertainment Licence under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap. 172), whether the authorities have plans to strengthen the regulation and inspection of claw machine venues, including formulating a new licensing system and setting the frequency of regular inspections; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) given that in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the first of this month, the Government indicated that if the operation of a pinball machine shop involves the offering of prizes, an Amusements with Prizes Licence (AWPL) should be obtained, and one of the licensing conditions for AWPL is "no prize offered shall be a money prize", but it is learnt that some pinball machine shops cash out prizes through methods such as "gift redemption" and "private buybacks" to evade regulation, whether the authorities have proactively conducted regular inspections of all pinball machine shops in Hong Kong, and of the measures taken to curb the above situation; if so, the details;
(4) whether the Hong Kong Police Force and the Home Affairs Department will strengthen co-operation to regularly make public the number of reports, frequency of inspections, and outcome of prosecutions with respect to illegal gambling and unlicensed operations, etc, in pinball machine shops, with a view to enhancing the transparency of relevant information;
(5) given that in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the first of this month, the Government indicated that it is reviewing matters relating to the regulation of AWPL, whether the scope of the review will cover items such as the business models, value and redemption of prizes, entry age, business locations, and information disclosure requirements with respect to pinball machine shops, and of the respective expected timetables for completing the review and announcing the results; and
(6) as there are views that the prizes and their values currently offered by some claw machine venues and pinball machine shops, as well as the operation modes of the machines, may involve gambling elements and are likely to lead to obsession or even addiction among minors, apart from regulation through enacting legislation, whether the authorities have plans to strengthen co-operation with schools, parents and district organisations to educate minors about the associated risks of addiction and obsession; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Home Affairs Department (HAD), I provide the following consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Pui-leung:
(1) Of the complaints concerning claw machines received by the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the HAD in the past five years (from 2021 to 2025), there were five, two, six, five and two cases respectively involving some elements of suspected unlawful gambling. These cases have been referred to the HKPF for follow-up actions. The HKPF does not maintain other relevant information of cases involving claw machine shops suspected of unlawful gambling.
Furthermore, the number of cases received and enforcement actions taken by the C&ED related to claw machines for suspected contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) over the past five years are listed by year as below:
| Case category | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Reported cases | 18 | 16 | 86 | 158 | 171 |
| Prosecution cases | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Convicted cases | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
The prosecution cases were associated with the offence of possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture of goods to which a forged trade mark was applied as stipulated under section 9(2) of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. In the four prosecution cases, C&ED arrested a total of five persons and seized 49 claw machines from 11 shops. In the three convicted cases, the sentences imposed were community service orders or suspended sentence.
(2) to (5) According to the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148) (the Ordinance), operating a game of amusement with prizes requires an Amusements with Prizes Licence (AWPL). Furthermore, a Places of Public Entertainment Licence under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap. 172) is a prerequisite for any AWPL application.
Generally speaking, if the operation of a pinball machine shop involves the offering of prizes, the operator should obtain such licences and comply with the relevant licensing conditions during the operation of the shop. The OLA will process licence applications and handle related enquiries in accordance with the established mechanism, and issue licences to applicants after relevant licensing requirements are met. Whether an AWPL is required for individual premises depends on their actual mode of operation.
In the event of any breach of the AWPL conditions, the OLA will, upon verification of the circumstances, take such follow-up actions as issuing warnings and revocation of the licence. The existing Ordinance explicitly stipulates that, save for the circumstances specified therein, all unauthorised gambling activities constitute an offence. The HKPF is responsible for carrying out inspections and enforcement actions in relation to the Ordinance. It will conduct investigations into pinball machine shops suspected of violating the Ordinance and seek advice from relevant departments where necessary.
Regarding inspections and enforcement actions, the HKPF has been actively combating different types of illegal gambling activities by, inter alia, tackling such activities via established strategies and adopting a four-pronged approach through prevention, education, intelligence gathering and law enforcement to curb gambling offences. The HKPF also actively follows up on complaints regarding various types of illegal gambling activities referred through different channels, and dispatches officers to carry out inspections, investigations and evidence-gathering operations.
To enhance information transparency, the OLA has uploaded to its website information of premises issued with a one-year AWPL (www.hadla.gov.hk/el/en/entertainment/forms.php) for public inspection. Meanwhile, the Government is reviewing the regulation of the AWPL, including claw machines as raised in this question, and will consult the relevant Panel of the Legislative Council on the proposed measures next month.
(6) Regarding public education, the Government attaches great importance to preventing gambling-related problems, particularly among youth. The Government established the Ping Wo Fund (PWF) in 2003 to finance both preventive and remedial measures to address the gambling-related problems.
The PWF provides tailored counselling, treatment and other support services to individuals affected by gambling as well as their family members. It also launches targeted public education and publicity campaigns to raise public awareness, particularly among young people, of the harms associated with gambling addiction, including emerging gambling modes, to mitigate their negative impact. These public education measures include funding non-governmental organisations and schools to organise public education programmes focused on the prevention and mitigation of gambling-related problems.
Ends/Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:40
Issued at HKT 12:40
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