Pinball machines , arcade games

[Barney R]

Does anyone know where I can either buy or rent these coin operated machines in Thailand ? Are they legal or do you need a permit ? Thanks in advance if anyone has any ideas .

[hansgruber]

Don't try importing one from abroad. Its considered a gambling machine and will be confiscated.

Some can be found in Bangkok but nothing spectacular.

[LivinginKata]

Don't try importing one from abroad. Its considered a gambling machine and will be confiscated.

Some can be found in Bangkok but nothing spectacular.

Must admit I was thinking that it might be considered gambling here in Thailand. But I have never seen a pinball machine that pays out money. It's just a fun game ...

[hansgruber]

Don't try importing one from abroad. Its considered a gambling machine and will be confiscated.

Some can be found in Bangkok but nothing spectacular.

Must admit I was thinking that it might be considered gambling here in Thailand. But I have never seen a pinball machine that pays out money. It's just a fun game ...

Customs just don't like them. Immediate confiscation and the reason given is that it could be a gambling device. No exceptions or bribes. No matter how much evidence I provided that it was an arcade machine the answer was just no.

They said the same with Pinball machines. I guess that's why you never see the really good games here in the arcades. Its mostly coin operated ps2 modified to arcade in the malls.

[N47HAN]

Incorrect guys.

Pinball machines are totally legal so are the touch screen arcade games.

There are several next to the cinema in jungceylon , mario world also in jungceylon had alot ( although now closed)

And theres hundreds of them in bkk. Including dream world and a miriad of bars .

[N47HAN]

P.S

Reading your post Hans, curious as to why you were told / believe that to be the case ?

If memory serves me correct you can rent them on a share profit basis too :-)

Edited October 3, 2013 by N47HAN

[hansgruber]

P.S

Reading your post Hans, curious as to why you were told / believe that to be the case ?

Have you taken note of arcade games here compared to the west?

No original Sega or Capcom games or the pinball machines. Its all Thai made with LCDs and playstations inside the cabinets.

I tried importing a old 80's arcade machine with Ghosts N Goblins. It was confiscated and that was the end of story.

Pinball and arcade games not approved by some ministry of whatever will be confiscated.

[MrKidno]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

[BookMan]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

Indiana Jones is one of my favourites

[hansgruber]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the  centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

 

Indiana Jones is one of my favourites

Addams family is one I'd love to get.

[hansgruber]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the  centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

Have you tried importing a arcade video game?

I'd love Ghosts N Goblins and Wonder boy but not going through that process again.

The coin mech is definitely a no go.

Did you have them removed before import?

Thanks.

[MrKidno]

No, I'm only interested in Pinballs at the moment. I have one machine with 2 coin mech's and the other with 2 'token' mech's there was no mention or concern from my agent ar customs although I stated to the exporter to please make sure you put on the invoice 'no coin mech home use only' but they didn't remove them anyway and I'm glad. I owned Indiana Jones (1992) a few years ago in Aus it is a great machine but has many mechanical problems especially the mutiball despenser. Addams family would be good to have but they are asking way too much on e-bay ($6-10,000) If anyone is interested there is a shop at Rod fai markets that deal mainly with electro-mech pins, I know they have moved since I sold them my 'Fast Draw' (1975) has anyone been there lately?

[IrishIvan]

Where is Rod Fai markets?

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[stevenl]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

Indiana Jones is one of my favourites

Addams family is one I'd love to get.

Bit older, but Xenon is my favourite. When Bally was still Bally and producing much better playing machines than Williams.

Edited October 5, 2013 by stevenl

[BookMan]

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

Indiana Jones is one of my favourites

Addams family is one I'd love to get.

Bit older, but Xenon is my favourite. When Bally was still Bally and producing much better playing machines than Williams.

I love xenon. Quite a difficult machine at first. Was a favourite of mine.

Not many people even know that machine

[insertcoins]

Why not build your own Visual Pinball cabinet? It's obviously not as good as the real deal, but it does let you play pretty much all the popular games that were produced:

Edited October 5, 2013 by insertcoins

[insertcoins]

for hansgruber:

[hansgruber]

I'd pay you anything if that ghosts n goblins. The button set up I'm thinking its street fighter.

Fill me in.

[IrishIvan]

Why not build your own Visual Pinball cabinet? It's obviously not as good as the real deal, but it does let you play pretty much all the popular games that were produced:

 

 

 

 

Do you need a work permit to build your own pinnie?

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[LivinginKata]

Do you need a work permit to build your own pinnie?

I would guess - yes you would need a WP.

[ckfok]

hi, I am from Hong Kong. I will travel Bangkok in Nov. I am aware of 2 pinballs in MBK of BKK. Are there other pinball locations in Bangkok city ? if yes, pls advise me the address. thx a lot.

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

[Ping]

^^LiK, wouldn't it be the same as the build-your-own boat issue? (You can build one without a work permit provided that it is for your own personal use, it is not intended for on-sale and is in fact not on-sold.)

[LivinginKata]

^^LiK, wouldn't it be the same as the build-your-own boat issue? (You can build one without a work permit provided that it is for your own personal use, it is not intended for on-sale and is in fact not on-sold.)

Sure - in theory. But if you asked the Labour Department or Immigration then they might take a different view. Mind you it's a bit different building a pin ball machine inside your home compared with building a boat out doors in full view of the world.

[hellodolly]

I must be old

I had a Baly Hi in the 60s. Been so long not sure of the spelling.

Also can remember putting a lot of money in ones in the Taverns that did pay off.

[thaiowl]

On 10/4/2013 at 6:40 PM, MrKidno said:

Hi, just to fill you all in on the real go about pinball machines here in Thailand, I am a professional collector and pin enthusiast from Australia now living in Thailand (Kanchanaburi) and have owned and sold over 20 pins over the last 15 years (mostly in Aus) I have now here in my possession 2 modern (90's) pinball machines with no problems. I got one from Aus and the other from the U.S. shipped by air and sea, I used a Thai friend (who is an agent) to do the paper work for customs though as it was easier, you don't need a permit, they are not illegal as long as you can pay the customs duty which is usually about 20 - 30% of the price paid on the invoice, and a fee for delivery if you want to, one machine I paid altogether 40,000bht to get entirely through customs and delivered by truck to my door, no hassles no questions. The machines you see at MBK Bkk and other shopping centers (Stern Spider man and Stern Pirates of the Caribbean MBK) have been registered and licensed by the centre management officially so as to allow them to take coins and make money on them and for public play. My machines are at home and therefore are not used to make profit...this is important if you wish to import one and to make sure you state on the form that it is for home use only and NOT personal monetary benefit. You pay the fee, I know it's exorbitant, but if you are like me an advent pinball enthusiast it's worth it, and I know I can sell them later on for at least what i paid for them as they are in immaculate condition (I have Data east 'Star wars' 1992 and Williams 'Funhouse' 1990 and am going to get Stern 'Elvis' 2004 very soon!) also I get spare parts; bulbs rubbers etc..from an on-line shop in the U.S. again, no problem sent through international post service. hope this is helpful to you.

 

I imported a "Shadow" machine in 1996 and it still works pretty well. I've had to tinker with it over the years but manged to mend it. I import parts from The Pinball Heaven in the UK. I would love to find an electro- mechanical machine to buy in Thailand.