Video Games, Gambling, and Organized Crime (1991)

Attempts to regulate video games in the 1980s weren’t only due to concerns about dangers to young people. The rise of video games also stoked concerns about their newfound popularity in casinos and gambling halls. Video poker games and video slot machines offered new ways for those over the age of 21 to gamble and raised questions about the fairness of chance in these games and who was profiting off of them. This clip from New Jersey Nightly News highlights the New Jersey State Commission’s investigation of video gambling machines, including an interview with an informant detailing that he and his associates operated rigged video betting machines on behalf of organized crime, specifically the Bruno-Scarfo crime family.

New Jersey Nightly News | New Jersey Network : Trenton N.J. | January 23, 1991 This video clip and associated transcript appear from 16:30 - 18:45 in the full record.