never seen a decal on any machines in Indiana except the company that is routing the machine

Only way to know for sure is in the city you plan to do this.

Go to city hall, go to license division, and ask.

Each state may be different.

You may need a license on you, your business ( as an operator ), the location, and each machine.

While there may as well check zoning ordinances too. Games aren't allowed everywhere.

You didn't ask, but get insurance too. Someone gets hurt by your game, you will be sued into oblivion. Don't depend on the location to do this, or it never happening.

LTG : )

Doesn't mean they aren't licensed. Some states/counties/cities require licenses on the game itself, some let you put them on a wall somewhere.

LTG : )

guess next time I go play some pin at a location I will surely check that out. I too was thinking of routing a machine.

Where are you reading $500? I'm seeing $30
http://tax.illinois.gov/Publications/Sales/SalesTaxRates/FixedRatesExcise.htm

So:
State tax: $30 annual per device
Then a local village fees I've seen anywhere from $25-$125.
Insurance
business license
replacement parts when things break
1/2 the cut to the bowling alley

Figure if you pull in a dollar a day, you might break even. It's what's killing operators (and why they are selling off their pins). Also if you go to a "pay one fee and play for free", that's still considered income even though it's not "coin-op", and you will still pay the same fees.

Does anyone have any stories relating to this?

I am sure a bar story will pop up

Vending Times magazine carried an article some years back. It seems about 10 people a year die in the USA from shaking a vending machine to loosen a stuck item and pulling it over on them.

My Automatic Products vending machine I bought new about 1991 has brackets on the rear to secure it to a wall. This is for a heavy pop machine sized pop/candy combo machine.

My state, Minnesota was a pioneer in getting coin op stuff grounded. Around 1946 or so a lady stuck her kid on a kiddie ride and put in a coin and electrocuted the kid.

I had a kid that tried sliding down my sit down Afterburner game, flew off and smacked into the wall. When I had a four player Atari Football, a guy playing it was bringing his hand up over his head and slamming onto and across the track ball. I told him to be careful he didn't hurt himself. Right after I said that he came down to strike the ball and nailed the edge of the cabinet, he tore his left hand open from between the thumb and finger most of the way across his hand, his thumb/bones were literally hanging by some skin on the other side.

Crap happens.

If it's a one in a billion shot. Do you want to risk everything you have or will ever have ?

LTG : )

$30 per fiscal year, not prorated. If you place a pin on location today, it's still $30, and that only gets you through June 30.

sb80:
Decatur has virtually no pins on location...if you know of any or decide to operate any, please submit them here:
http://www.pinballmap.com/champaign

-Mark

Anyone know NC licensure off hand? I did a quick search but didn't turn up anything. Not seriously thinking of routing soon, but would be curious to know if someone has the information easily on hand.

I googled the city I wanted to place the game in and the words "License" "Gaming" or other like phrases. Came up pretty quickly. In the town I'm considering, its all online, form and all.

GL

Many states, including mine, leave it up to the cities and counties to regulate coin op. As Lloyd suggested above, check locally first. Keep in mind that city and county rules may be different. Also mentioned above is that all the rules are often spelled out on the city or county's website. Search on pinball, video games, amusement devices, gaming, etc. Rules can and do vary greatly from city to city. For instance, my city requires that anyone who operates more than 10 pins or video games in one place to pass a police background check. Old law, still on the books.

Also, locations can vary depending on their location. One place may be within city limits while the place across the street is in an unincorporated part of the county. Their listed street address may be in the city, but the county rules apply. Either way, check the local rules first. The locals are going to be the first ones to give you trouble, so make sure you're good with them first. Then check state rules, if any. Some of the smaller cities in my area don't require anything at all.

Guy was fighting and hit his head on a pinball machine in OH.

He sued the bar, the guy he was fighting and the owner of the pin.

No joke, happens all the time.

This must be why when I suggested to my friend, who owns The Porterhouse Cigar Bar, to put a couple of pins in there, he said...to much bullshit involved to even think about it!

You can sue anyone in this country. Doesn't mean you'll win in court.

http://tinyurl.com/cwknbqr

In case you missed it at the end of my post above...

That's what I mean...he must know in Jersey it's a pain in the ass...

Oops. Missed that. It's all Nucky Thompson's fault. d;^|

Pin owner's insurance company paid $6,000 in damages and the legal fees, bar owner's insurance company paid out $15,000 and legal fees. I never heard how the other guy in the fight fared.

If anywhere near the $21,000 the other two defenders had to pay, I would hope he beat the ever loving crap out of the guy to at least have some kind of satisfaction from loss of funds. Unless the other guy started the fight, then he deserved it. Either way, not the bar's issue or the pinball owner's issue.

Things like this are good reasons I dropped out of law school back in the day. I like right and wrong, not wrong unless I can argue it right.