Pokies and Slot Machine Information

Albury enjoys a flutter

The city of Albury in Victoria, Australia has a remarkable turnover of citizen funds through its pokies:

“GAMBLERS pumped almost $450 million through Albury pokies last financial year.
The astonishing figures show that $447,119,409 was turned over in the city’s 1354 machines at 27 pubs or clubs in 2004-2005.That’s about $1.25 million a day and $330,000 for each machine during the year.”

These numbers are not atypical for Australian regional cities. The turnover, and player losses clearly demonstrate that the penetration of pokies has reached the point of no return.

There are mutterings by various political aspirants that they intend to try and win office with the intent of reducing pokies numbers – this has already happened in South Australia, where a “No pokies’ MP was recently returned to office with an increased majority.

Slot machines Japanese style – pachinko

Slot machines as such are illegal in Japan. At least slot machines as most people understand them. Instead the Japanese play a different style of pseudo gambling game – pachinko.

Players frequent what are sometimes huge venues, absolutely stuffed with pachinko machines. Once there, they purchase small metal balls and insert them into the machines. At the end of play the idea is to have more of the balls out of the machine than were put in. As with other gambling games, more often than not this won’t be the case.

Its against the law in Japan to award a cash payout, so instead of cash prizes, players are given tokens or trinkets of specific value. Some of these prizes awarded can be exchanged or ’sold’ for cash at adjacent or nearby centres. The cash cannot be given at the venue itself, though in practice these centres are not far from the pachinko venues.

The net effect is that players can end up with more cash than they started with – just as you might playing real slot machines. The process is just a little more complicated. The turnover on pachinko machines is quite incredible:

“pachinko … takes in 30 trillion yen a year — more than Japan’s automobile manufacturers”

Japan Times Article

There used to be extensive involvement by organised criminal elements in the pachinko process. This has been cleaned up in recent years, but changing the system to a more conventional slot machines/casino style operation is being met with resistance:

“The people who oppose legalized gaming in Japan say that it will stimulate underworld criminal activity and lead to the deterioration of public morals”

The public morals argument is a little farfetched, as even in pachinko parlours an entry age limit of 18 applies. The secondary argument about the likely involvement of organised crime in casinos is also quite specious – most first world countries are able to control the probity of casino operations.

Playing pokies a hazard?

A Victoria, Australia group which comments on problem gambling has made the following observation:

“The Council of Gamblers’ Help Services executive officer Eddie Chapman said gamblers could not be expected to make informed decisions about their spending because the rapid and continuous nature of machines interfered with normal decision making.”

Star News Group

Once again the gaming machines themselves are being blamed for players losses. Instead, the regulation of the machines should be looked at. Its quite possible to have the same number of gaming machines as already exist – in such a way as not to cause the huge player losses currently experienced.

A partial solution – remove the high taxation on gaming machine turnover. Venues must set their percentage payouts according to law, but at the same time the various governments which set the laws have a large hand in the payout pie.

In theory pokies payouts could be adjusted to a level which would make playing them little more expensive than playing other forms of arcade video games.

Remember from our previous posts that you are effectively paying a fee, a percentage of every single dollar you play in a slot machine, to play that game. Commonly the machines will keep 10% or more of every dollar invested – if this were reduced to a 1 or 2 percent level and maximum bets were reduced, players could simply lose much less over time.

Changing the payout regime is unlikely – most governments are in the awkward position of needing the revenue to balance their budgets.

Pokies nostalgia in Australia

Lawrie remembers back to the early days of pokies in Australia:

I remember back when:

- To get into a club you had to be a member or be signed in by a member.

- Pokies were either 3 or 4 reel machines and took 5,10 & 20 cent coins, there was even a 2 cent charity machine (jackpot $2).

- Jackpots were 200 coins on a 3 reeler and 500 coins on a 4 reeler and they either paid it all out into the hopper or you had to report it to the cashier and sign for it.

- You got your coins in a plastic tube from the change desk, no note acceptors in the 70’s.

- The machines were either Aristocrat, Jubilee, Nut and Muddle and Bally.

- Machines only paid on the center line.

- Everyone always made a beeline for the Inca or Tic Tac Toe or Gold Award machines.

- Little old ladies did line up at the front door just before opening time and yes there was a stampede for their favourite 5cent machine, it was death by PONGA if you beat them to THEIR machine.

- A schooner of beer at the bar was 25 cents, that’s all real blokes drank back then.

- Lobster Thermidor in the restaurant was $10.

- The girls all drank Sparkling Rhinegold or Porphery Pearl, the posh ones drank Brandy Alexander’s or Blue Lagoons.

- The gents had to wear a tie to get into the restaurant, meanwhile the girls got away with wearing Mini’s and Hot Pants (not that I was complaining).

- There was always a show on in the Auditorium on the week-end.

- Movie night was usually Monday or Tuesday.

- More to come next week on the history of pokies in NSW .

Do you have memories of pokies places from long ago? Let us know… email blog@pokiemagic.com

IGT reports handsome profit

Making slot machines can be a lucrative business, as witnessed by IGT’s impressive profit performance.

“For the quarter ended March 31, the company earned $124 million, or 35 cents a share, up 32 percent from $93.9 million, or 26 cents a share, during the same period a year ago”

Yahoo Business Article

IGT is the worlds largest slot maker, with hundreds of games available. It noted in the report that its home market – the USA – is currently limited in opportunities for expansion – so its working harder overseas to increase revenues.

Here in Australia IGT machines comprise a relatively small percentage of installed gaming product. Recent advances, in particular the Blue Chip range of gaming machines, have seen IGT’s market share in Australia increase.