If you are coming across the word “pokies” for the first time, and you live in any other place apart from Australia, then you can be forgiven for not knowing what it means. However, Australians and anyone who has visited Australia know what the word means.
This is not strange since the term is exclusively used in this part of our planet for slots and video poker machines. The enthusiasm and even addiction to this form of gambling are why the word “pokies” is widespread across the country/continent. The widespread addiction has led to several pokies online australia apps that you can play from the comfort of your home via your smartphone.
Initially, the term was used for just poker machines that were everywhere in Australia. However, as the years passed by, certain companies began to introduce different slot machine varieties. When this happened, the Australians readily called these new gaming equipment pokies as well.
The country has the record for the highest number of poker players in the world; 18% of players are in Australia. One of the reasons for the widespread popularity of these machines is the fact that they are legally permitted to be installed in other facilities and establishments that are non-gaming or gambling facilities. Hence, players have access to them almost anywhere.
The addiction is unlike never seen before as a study reported that nearly all Australians had one level or another of addiction to these games. As we stated above, the proliferation of these gambling machines has contributed in no small way to the addiction increase.
What Pokies Mean
As we already explained, “pokies” is the Australian pet name that was originally given to poker machines. This name was given during the beginning of the digital entertainment era as they quickly took to these pieces of gambling equipment.
The pet name given is in line with the culture of the Aussies to abbreviate most of their words with other terms. For example, “cuppa” is the term for the phrase “a cup of tea”, “Macca’s” is the term for “McDonald’s”, and “Arvo” is used for “afternoon”. Visit https://www.fluentu.com/ to learn more about Australian slang words.
In 1953 when Aristocrat Leisure a slots manufacturer in Australia was founded, the first set of poker machines came into the country. Up till this day, Aristocrat is the major provider of these pieces of equipmentto all kinds of facilities within Australia.
With the advancement of technology, video slot games gradually replaced poker machines. Even though these pieces of equipment were different (since the new pieces ofmachinery didn’t have the “poker” section anymore), the Aussies went on calling them pokies.While just a few of these games are poker machines, the players still use the same term for all of them.
The Popularity of Pokies in Australia
If you visit the country today and begin to count the number of gambling equipment, you’ll end up counting over 200,000; that is if you don’t get overwhelmed since they are virtually everywhere. You can find these machines in most casinos, clubs, and pubs in the country.
As we said, the majority of these items are not really poker machines but a variety of gambling pieces of machinery that provide the player with different functions and opportunities to win. The slots you would see in an Aussie casino, club, or pub will range from video poker games, basic three-reel classic slots that offer one payline to modern slots that have multiple paylines. Click here to learn more about paylines in slots and how they work.
The gambling industry in Australia receives nearly $14 billion from players who lose each year when the combined losses of each machine are calculated. One will think that the players would learn since they lose $1,000 on average each year per player. Instead, the popularity of these games continues to rise.
Apart from the widespread availability of these machines, another reason they are so popular is the entertainment the players get from them. The graphics, sounds, and animations come in different varieties and can keep a player hooked for several hours.
This marketing strategy is why slot manufacturers such as Aristocrat Leisure have been sued severally. Nevertheless, these manufacturers continueapplying these strategies. This, in turn, has led to an increase in the level of addiction with each passing year.
This addiction has become a problem so much so that the Australian government is devising several solutions to reduce the level of addiction. However, they haven’t gotten great results on that front. We can guess they could be having their own form of addiction to the games.
If you asked us to proffer a solution, we would simply tell the government to ban and remove all the machines. Anyway, we’ve also discovered that even if you do that, Aussies will turn to online casinos and continue playing without restriction.
Hence, even folks who cannot access physical gambling machines, spend their time on their phones or laptops playing the game online.
Pokies in other Parts of the World
While the Aussies have coined a pet name for poker machines, it doesn’t mean they are played in Australia alone. By the way, New Zealanders also use the term. The games can be played from anywhere in the world.
Irrespective of the name you call them; pokies, fruities, or slots, these gambling machines can be exciting, fun, and easy to get addicted to. In most countries, they are legal but only allowed in casinos.
In the past, you could control your addiction by avoiding the casino (that’s if you’re not in Australia; in Aussie, youhave to stay at home because these machines are everywhere). These days, it is not so easy thanks to the advent of online casinos which have made it easier to play a game from anywhere in the world.
The government of Australia is battling a crisis at hand already, but who’s to say that other governments won’t have to deal with this crisis as well.
Conclusion
Poker machines or pokies as the Australians will call them are great pass-time equipment. However, they can become very addictive which is what Australian players have come to realize. In the article above, we have discussed important facts you need to know about this gambling game that is rising in popularity each day.
