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Pokies, as how the casino slots are called in Australia, can be found everywhere. Whereas, in most other countries, these pokies can be found only in casino´s. In Australia pokies can be found at hotels, pubs and sports clubs.

The pokies were legalised for the first time in Australia in 1956. The state of New South Wales was the first Australian state to legalise these machine slots. The Australian Capital Territory followed in 1976. In the 90´s of the lost century the states of Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory followed. In Western Australia pokies are only allowed in casino´s. In total there are 196,900 pokies in Australia. Which means there is one pokie for every 114 Australian citizens. In Neighbouring county New Zealand there are only 16.440 pokies, which means there is about one pokie for every 304 citizens.

Poker machines

The average Australian adult loses 700 Australian dollars per year. Australians also love to play video poker at poker machines. On average these poker machines make $56,000 profit when they are placed in clubs and hotels. However, pokies can be more profitable than these poker machines. Pokies can make more than $200,000 a year. Therefore, 70% of the Australians think gambling should be limited and more controlled. In the meantime, more and more ads about online casino´s are shown on television and other (social) media.

However, plans are there to phase out pokies over the next five years. The government is trying to form a transition package of 7 billion dollar to compensate clubs and hotels for the loss of income.

One important question that you might be wondering after reading this article: Why are slots called “Pokies” in Australia? The term pokie is an abbreviation from poker machine. Nowadays, every slot is called a pokie, not just the poker machines.

Ferry de Groot

Ferry de Groot

Ferry is gespecialiseerd in het schrijven van gok gerelateerde content, met zijn masters degree in communicatie weet hij precies hoe hij zijn publiek kan raken en entertainen.

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The editorial team of Betsquare highly values independence and objectivity. To support our reviews and information and to continue offering this content to our readers for free, we receive compensation from companies that advertise on the Betsquare website. These compensations come from two main sources. Firstly, we offer advertisers the opportunity to advertise through paid placements. The compensation we receive for these placements can impact the offers of advertisers on the website. Not all services or products available in the market are listed on Betsquare. Additionally, we also include links to advertisers' offers in some of our articles; these "affiliate links" may generate income for our website when clicked on. The compensations we receive from advertisers do not affect the recommendations or advice provided by our editorial team in our articles, and also do not influence the editorial content on Betsquare. Betsquare cannot always guarantee that all provided information is complete. Therefore, it makes no claims or warranties regarding the accuracy or applicability thereof. Below is a list of our partners who offer products for which we have affiliate links.