The reality of it was that he just wanted to cut down on petty crime.” “His spin was that it was for ‘the good of the children’. And if there were pinball arcades, maybe the kids would be tempted not to go to school.” “Drapeau argued that kids were losing money to pinball machines, the pocket money that their parents worked hard for. The other reason behind the mayor’s decision was one of morals, explains Seivewright.
“One reason he made them was because he thought pinball machines would attract kids to places where they would gather in groups, making them more likely to commit petty crimes.” That was a big thing for him and his administration.” says Seivewright. “ was really concerned with juvenile delinquents. Pinball machines, not unlike slot machines, were famously used for gambling and Drapeau, in an effort to clean up the city, prohibited them in all public places. I spoke with local tour guide and Montreal history expert Thom Seivewright to find out.įollowing in the footsteps of major American cities like New York and Chicago, Montreal’s mayor, Jean Drapeau, outlawed the use of pinball machines in 1955. That’s right, pinball - the clunky machine with the silver ball that your dad claims to be a “wizard” at - was illegal in the city of Montreal for over 20 years.
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