No other country in the world has taken to slots, also called poker machines or simply pokies, quite like Australia. Pokies create massive revenue in the country, with Australians losing around twelve billion dollars on them every year. A new generation of pokies is now being developed, to keep young people interested in them.
The gambling regulatory bodies in New South Wales and Victoria have received the first applications for an entirely new and different kind of pokie machine. The new gaming machines are more skill based than the traditional ones and don’t rely on luck alone. Payouts are based not only on chance but also on players’ abilities. The new pokies look and feel more like video games, and are aimed at drawing in young people, who have grown up playing games on computers and smartphones.
The applications for the new pokie machines have been put forward by the pokies developer and provider Wymac, who is based in Melbourne. They have joined forces with Crown Resorts, one of the biggest land-based casino operators, to develop the new skill-based pokies. Approval of the applications would set an important milestone in the history of gambling, and a radical transformation of pokie machines.
Pokies have of course repeatedly changed over the years since they were first introduced around a hundred years ago. Today, the previously mechanical machines are computerised, and they have buttons instead of levers. Cast iron cases and reels have been replaced by high-resolution monitors depicting pop-culture themes. Colourful flashing lights with video and audio effects are designed to entertain, and the reels spin much faster, making the game as compelling and attractive as possible. Bigger bets and banknotes are accepted today, whereas the previous mechanical pokies only operated with coins and small wins.
Many of the new games allow for multiple players at a time and use touch screens and joysticks.