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| The History of Australian
Pokies |
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| In addition to kangaroos and hot weather, there’s one other thing Australia is known for. Namely, it is
fruities, slot machines, or as the Aussies call them- pokies. It is a well-known fact that pokies are very popular in Australia. Australia has more pokies per
capita compared to every country in the world, if we exclude micro states which are also casino paradises, such as Monaco. There are currently about 200,000
pokies all over Australia, even though half of them are located in New South Wales. Nowadays, a lot of Australians have shifted towards mobile gaming and they
play pokies on their Android smartphones. There’s a range of great slottica bonus
bez depozytu. |
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Figures show that there’s about one pokie machine per 101 Australians. And that almost 40% of adult
Australians play the pokies and an average person wagers about AU$380 on pokies per year. These figures are quite astonishing, but how did that came about?
What is the history behind Australia’s love affair with pokies?
The word ‘pokies’
The history of the word ‘pokies’
itself is very interesting. It is quite difficult to find the first documented use of these word, even though everybody in Australia calls slot machines pokies
nowadays. The most reasonable explanation is that video poker machines have been present alongside slots in many clubs, pubs and casinos, and the shortening
pokies machine, or pokies became synonymous with both poker machines and slots, even though they are technically not the same.
The very beginning
The actually history began with the Liberty Bell. One of the first slot machines that was ever developed. American Charles Fey was the creator of the
Liberty Bell. At the dawn of the 20th century, the first pokies were shipped to the shores of Australia. Even though casinos were illegal and gambling was
forbidden, the pokies were an instant hit. |
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Legalisation
In 1953 Aristocrat, one
of the most popular makers of pokies in Australia and the rest of the world, developed and produced their first pokie, called Clubman. Casinos were still
illegal in Australia, but the people at the company recognised the moment and the potential. Aristocrat developed another slot machine, 2 years later and it
was called Clubmaster. During the following, 1956 New South Wales was the first state that legalised pokies, which were legally known as gaming machines. It
can safely be said that this decision was probably the most influential one in regards to the history of pokies in Australia. The popularity of pokies saw a
rapid increase. For few decades all pokies were similar. They all featured three reels and 1, 3, or 5 pay-lines. The jackpots weren’t very high and the
games weren’t interactive. All that the players could do was pull the handle and wait for the reels to stop spinning.
Introduction of video
pokies
During the 1980s the first video pokies were developed and this development is considered to be revolutionary as pokies are nowadays completely
different. The introduction of the video pokies only increased the popularity of the games in Australia. During the next decade a lot of Australian states
passed legislation that allowed pub owners to place real money pokies and video poker machines in their objects. This further cemented the reputation and
popularity of pokies in Australia.
Online pokies
When people thought that pokies couldn’t become more popular, something even more
dramatic than the introduction of video pokies happened – online pokies were introduced. People were know able to casually enjoy spinning the
pokies on their computers, in the comfort of their homes. Nowadays there are hundreds of online pokies,
available at numerous online casinos. Mobile pokies, that we mentioned in the beginning were only the next, logical step in the history and development of
pokies in Australia, but also in the rest of the world. |
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