Licensing Board Decides to Ban Pinball Machines

The Cambridge Licensing Board has announced that it will not renew pinball machine licenses after Jan. 1. an internal revenue Bureau decision imposing a special tax on such machines was responsible for the decision. Mrs. Blanche Ryan, secretary to the Board, said yesterday.

She said the ban will affect "pinball machines," but not shuffleboard or miniature bowling games.

The ruling drew sharp comment from the owner of the company which distributes the common-type pinball machines used in three local restaurants --Elsie's Lunch, Mikes' Club, and Thommy's Arcade.

The distributor said the Board's ruling was "prejudiced" and based on "capricious thinking"; he questioned whether the board, which has permitted operation of these machines for the past ten years, should be arbitrary merely because it has the right. The Licensing Board's decision is final and not subject to City Council or City Manager approval.

Saying the Federal government had imposed a special tax on so-called gambling machines (those types employing multiple coin and free game devices which build up odds), the distributor asserted that his machines are purely for amusement.

The Internal Revenue office ruled specifically on the bino-type pinball machines, not the kind in the three restaurants, the firm's owner claimed. Hence, he continued, the City Licensing Board's decision is unjustified.

He also cited decisions by the Boston and Watertown Licensing Boards, which did not ban these "amusement" machines.