Pokies are such an Australian thing, aren’t they? It’s even considered that the very first slot machine was created here alongside the first framework for digitalizing all of the casinos that were legalized 5 decades ago.
However, no matter how much some Australians may love playing slots games, or as they call them pokies, many don’t really know some of the most intricate facts about their favorite type of entertainment.
In this article, we will try to gather as much information as possible about pokies in Australia as possible, and hopefully some of them you have never heard about.
Casino pokies have been legal for only 47 years
That’s right, casinos were first legalized in 1973 when the government saw that it now had the resources to control them as much as it wanted to.
Before that, pokies were played in special gaming clubs, pubs, and bars which were a lot easier to control as they could not cater to a lot of people. Casinos on the other hand sometimes had the capacity to hold hundreds of people inside.
Nowadays though, Australian casinos have the capacity of servicing thousands if not tens of thousands of people in a single day.
Pokies were legalized because of money
The government quickly realized that casinos were an amazing source of income for the country, especially when they needed additional income to further develop the most profitable industries such as mining and the upcoming digital services.
The government legalized casinos in 1973 and pokies became the most popular gambling activity in the country, overtaking horse racing by millions.
The first-ever pokies were played in New South Wales
Although the first-ever legal casino pokies were played in 1973, it doesn’t mean that there were no other places to play pokies legally in the country.
This was all too possible in New South Wales, which had special locations such as gaming clubs dotted all over the state.
Wrest Point Hotel Casino was the first legal casino
Wrest Point Hotel Casino, which is still operational today was the very first casino people could visit and gamble legally. This includes playing pokies primarily as most other gambling activities such as betting on horse racing were recognized as a legal tender way before pokies were even a thing.
WPHC opened its doors on the 10th of February, 1973.
Slot machines are the most popular gambling games in Australia
According to some studies, more than 25% of all slot machines in the world are located in Australia. Half of that 25% is located in New South Wales, which gives us a whole new perspective of how much Australia loves playing pokies on a daily basis.
Or maybe they just like making them.
Poker slots are the most profitable
According to government documents, roughly half of what the government makes from taxing casinos is generated through poker slots, meaning that no matter how popular table poker is, it will never be able to overcome the popularity of video poker.
Why? Because most people rather be alone when gambling, or not have to try too much when trying not to lose money.
First Aussie mobile pokies were released in 2004
Microgaming was the first casino software company that released an Australian-themed casino slot to the online gambling industry. The slot’s name was Thunderstruck and simply oozed Australian energy.
This game was a stepping stone for the Aussie online gambling industry as more and more companies were founded that created additional games to fill up the numerous gambling websites that were popping up all over the country.
Nowadays though, it’s all about mobile gaming, in which Australia is leading as well.
Most amount of pokies in the world
Australia has the most number of pokies per capita than every nation in the world, it’s 0.008 pokies per person. Yes, it’s larger even than the United States and the United Kingdom.