While every antipodean almost certainly knows what a pokie is, people from the Northern Hemisphere might not be as familiar with the term as they are with the game.
New Zealanders and Australians call slot machines pokies. While Australia has been dubbed the ‘sports betting capital of the world’, their southern neighbors are also big-time gamblers. However, their obsession is with the pokies.
People often wonder how slot machines became pokies when they were introduced into Australia and New Zealand. After all, they already had a perfectly good name, so how did the slots become pokies when they crossed the equator?
Key Takeaways
- Pokies, or slot machines, are a beloved form of entertainment in New Zealand, much like their popularity in Australia. They’ve become an essential part of the country’s gambling culture.
- The term “pokie” originated with video poker machines and eventually became synonymous with all slot machines, both online and land-based.
- New Zealand’s land-based pokies heavily contribute to local causes. A portion of the revenue from these pokies goes directly to community grants, supporting healthcare, sports, and other local projects.
- The introduction of several key acts, like the Gambling Act 1991, Gaming Machine Act 1994, and Gambling Act 2003, helped regulate pokies and introduced community funding models.
- While online pokies don’t follow the same funding model as their land-based counterpart, their convenience, vast variety, and immense entertainment value make them immensely popular among New Zealanders.
- Pokies are driven by random number generators (RNG), and there’s no way to predict when a machine will pay out. The RTP (Return to Player) percentage is a key concept that defines the long-term payout to players.
How Slots Became Pokies
The word pokie has its origins in video poker machines. When gambling took off in Australia and New Zealand, slot machines and video poker machines were located in the same area of the establishment where they were hosted.
People started referring to all the gaming machines as the pokies, and the term stuck. Then, as the simpler games of luck became more popular than the more strategic video poker games, the name just became synonymous with the slots, one-armed bandits, or fruit machines.
When online gaming entered the market and Aussies and Kiwis flocked to offshore sites to play online versions of the games they loved, the name for the physical machines transferred to their virtual counterparts.
This is why today, many online casinos that use GEO-targeting on their sites have their slots referred to as pokies for Australia and New Zealand and as slots for the rest of the world.
The Math Behind the Machines
While we say they are games of luck, pokies are driven by a random number generator.
Despite our hope that there are lucky machines, pants, or days of the week, the results and chances of winning are entirely random.
There are no hacks or ways to improve our chances of winning, and even though it is believed by many players, there is no such thing as a machine being “due to pay”.
The odds are programmed in and the house always wins. All pokies have what is known as RTP (return to player). The higher the percentage, the higher the amount returned to the player over the long run.
Bearing in mind that pokies are run by businesses and businesses are there to make money, the machines will always pay out less than is paid in. Because of this, the RTP in pokies is always below 100%.
RTP is measured as a percentage. An RTP of 100% would mean the game pays out just as much as you put into it over the long run. On the other hand, an RTP of 97% means that for every $10 staked, the average payout over time is $9.70.
On individual play sessions, RTP has less of an impact than volatility and luck. This is why some people can win big on their first couple of spins, while others may lose their balance quickly.
A Unique Funding Model
In New Zealand, pokies are more than just a form of entertainment – they also play a significant role in supporting community causes.
Since 1994, the country has operated a unique model that directs a portion of the revenue generated by pokies and other casino games to charitable and community organizations.
Unlike in many other countries where these games serve only commercial interests, New Zealand has a system that ensures the proceeds benefit local communities.
When players spend money on pokies in pubs, clubs, and casinos, at least 40% is allocated to fund community grants. These funds are used for a wide variety of local projects, from sports clubs and youth programs to healthcare initiatives and emergency services.
In fact, only about 16% of the total revenue from land-based pokies goes to the operators of the venues where the machines are located. The remaining 84% is divided between government levies and community grants.
This model helps to soften the perception of gambling as purely commercial and provides a tangible benefit to the community.
This is why many Kiwis view pokies with less guilt than they might view other forms of gambling. The knowledge that their money is helping fund local causes can make the gaming experience feel less transactional and more rewarding.
While the online casino market doesn’t operate under this same model, the land-based machines in New Zealand have a unique advantage that aligns gambling with social good.
The History of Pokies in New Zealand
Pokies have been a part of New Zealand’s gambling landscape for over three decades, but their journey from introduction to regulation was a gradual one.
- 1988: Electronic gaming machines (pokies) were first legalized in New Zealand, marking the beginning of the country’s modern gambling scene. Initially, these machines were introduced only in licensed casinos and not available in other public venues like pubs and clubs.
- 1991: The Gambling Act 1991 was passed, expanding the use of gaming machines in more venues such as pubs, clubs, and other public spaces. This helped establish pokies as a popular form of entertainment across New Zealand.
- 1994: The Gaming Machine Act 1994 introduced the community funding model. Under this legislation, a portion of the revenue generated from pokies was required to be directed to community grants, supporting local causes like sports clubs, healthcare, and community projects.
- 2003: The Gambling Act 2003 was introduced to provide a more comprehensive framework for gambling regulation across New Zealand. It replaced the Gambling Act 1991 and was designed to control and manage all forms of gambling, including pokies, with a focus on reducing harm from gambling.
The Draw of Online Pokies
Although New Zealand’s community funding model applies only to land-based pokies, the entertainment value of online pokies remains a major draw for players.
The convenience of being able to play anytime, anywhere, makes online pokies incredibly popular, especially as more Kiwis turn to online gambling every day.
Online pokies offer an endless variety of thousands and thousands of games, each with its own themes, visual effects, features, and bonus rounds.
Whether it’s a classic 3-reel pokie, a modern game with impressive 3D animations, or a high-volatility progressive jackpot game, there’s something to suit every player’s preference.
In terms of innovation and entertainment value, the online gambling scene provides an unrivaled experience that land-based casinos can’t match.
While it might lack the authentic atmosphere and social experience of land-based casinos, the game selection is immensely vast and varied, with several unique reel designs, interactive bonus features, and more.
The experience is immersive, with high-quality graphics, sound effects, and animations that make each game feel like an adventure.
On top of this, many online casinos offer a variety of casino bonus types, such as free spins, cashbacks, rakebacks, tournaments, loot boxes, match bonuses, and more, which add to the entertainment value by giving players more opportunities to win.
Unfortunately, the community funding model does not apply to online pokies as the casinos New Zealanders play on are not based in the country. They are supplied by overseas, international operators that target the Kiwi market.
For many players, this doesn’t matter though. It’s the sheer fun and thrill of the game that keeps them coming back for more. This is why online pokies are here to stay, for now and for the future.