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Monday 22 September, 6.30pm

Amusement arcades have always been as much a part of the Great British seaside as buckets and spades and 99 cones. Come sun or shower - especially shower - the bright lights and blaring music of the traditional slot machines, grabber cranes and penny falls always drew a crowd. But, apparently, not any more.

John Bollom is the owner of Mumbles Pier. He's seen his income plummet this season, and it's not been just down to the weather:

"Since the introduction of the new Gambling Act last September it has affected the income of the gaming machines quite considerably. I know from many of my friends in the trade in different coastal resorts that their downturn has been even worse. Many of those will not survive ... there will be a number of closures throughout the trade this coming winter."

The problem, say the arcade operators, lies with new rules on the types and numbers of machines they can offer which have made traditional arcades less attractive to adult gamblers.

Leslie Macleod Miller is chief executive of BACTA, the association which represents the arcade industry:

"The stakes in gaming machines were reduced, the numbers of gaming machines in arcades were also reduced. The British public is saying the entertainment value we've previously experienced is simply not there any more. My friends have gone; I'm going. This was not one of the objectives of the new act - it wasn't to close down businesses."

To win back those lost customers and income BACTA is lobbying for a higher stake for their biggest £500 jackpot machines and an easing of restrictions on the numbers of such machines.

The idea has been dismissed by the Westminster Government, which fears that could create high street 'machine sheds' and put public protection at risk.

Anna Drew of the Methodist Church agrees that it's too early to be tinkering with legislation:

"If the gambling industry wants us to relax those restrictions they have a duty to show there will be no detrimental effect to the public. We've already got a quarter of a million problem gamblers in the United Kingdom - one more is too many."