Gambling has for centuries been an activity that has brought many interesting stories to tell. The reels have eyes that glimmer when they look at the player sitting on the other end of the machine or table dreaming away about their next big win.
How can something so frustrating still be so satisfying? The factors are many, from the pokies games straightforward approach to get those reels spinning, to the exciting audio effects, to being able to bet low but win big, bringing friends and family together to play something that allows you to win real money instead of that monopoly money but most importantly how convenient it is to gamble nowadays. You can pick up your laptop or smartphone device and play at any time and anywhere.
No wonder gambling is so widely popular when you can sit on the toilet on your phone and win real money at the same time. Gambling truly is a favorite and continues to give the world wonderful stories to tell.
Now, how about let your own excitement begin with these 10 amazing facts about gambling in Australia.
10 Gambling facts in Australia
1. Have a good gambling strategy – Aussies are famous for being competitive players but most importantly they play for the joy of gambling. If you are in it, to win it then any experience Australian gambler will tell you to have a good gambling strategy.
It’s a myth that having a strategy won’t increase your chances as a lot of the games you gamble on are a game of chance. Even though you play on a game of chance, there are still several ways to increase your winning chances. Such as selecting high RTP pokies (the highest one you can choose is 99% return to player on a pokies game).
Another strategy is to play on as many pay lines as possible and bet higher rather than lower. Keep in mind that little tweaks like these ones increase your chances of winning but doesn’t guarantee you a win.
Always make sure that you take advantage of all of the brilliant bonuses as it puts you in a great advantage to win real money for free!
If you are more of the competitive type like the Aussies then playing on one of the poker tournaments which is an Aussie favorite may suit you perfectly.
Online progressive jackpots give you the same vibe as the poker tournaments, as each time someone doesn’t take home the jackpot, the amount keeps increasing until someone wins.
2. Did you know that on average Australia has x5 more pokies machines than the US – In Australia pokies is the most favorite form of gambling and they come first in the world, even before the US, to keep this favorite gambling hobby going.
The Australian government collects around 4 billion AUD each year in revenue from the pokies machines in Australia. Although this gambling activity is highly popular and close to Aussies hearts, it’s illegal to purchase your own real money pokies machine in Australia.
The Australian gambling regulators have implemented tough rules to prevent an increase in gambling addictions in Australia. This is also why it’s not legal to promote any gambling in Australia to keep a safe play going by avoiding temptation in the Aussie gambling world.
According to the Australian gambling law, the minimum payout percentage is 87% for the player.
3. 70% of Australians gamble – Gambling comes in many different forms such as sportsbooks, lotteries, scratchies (scratchcards), pokies and table games on both in-land casinos and online casinos.
Gambling is very easily accessible because of the online gambling companies, Australians are playing more gambling games than ever.
The online casino companies have opened a platform to a gambling world that you can access at any time and at any place. This has made online gambling far more popular than in land-based casinos as now we can open up our phones and play whenever we feel like it.
4. There are over 5,000 pokies game available – Due to the high amount of gaming providers that continue to make bigger and better games for the gamblers, the choices of themes seem to be never-ending. There is every type of pokies and table games for every type of player, so we can assure you that you will be spoiled for choice, especially on the online casino market.
It’s important to play casino games from reputable gaming providers such as Microgaming, Betsoft, Playtech, NetEnt, Play Go, Evolution Gaming and Yggdrasil. If you are playing a casino game from on of the mentioned software providers, we can guarantee you that you’ll be in for a casino adventure.
These software providers tend to also have online casino games with the highest RTP percentage. Playing a pokies game with the highest RTP percentage is very important. First of all, RTP stands for Return To Player and we all want to invest money into a casino game where we have the highest chance of getting some of our money back. The highest possible RTP percentage to play on is 99% so make sure you are playing a pokies game with an RTP percentage close to 99% at least, no less than 96% if you want to increase your chances of a real money win in the future.
5. 1953 was the year the first Australian pokie was created – The Aristocrat became the leading pokie manufacturer in Australia and got named “The Clubman”. They still sell to Japan and the US. They also develop gambling systems such as computerized card game simulations and electronic table games. The Australian company developed the Reel Power System where the pokies players can buy reels instead of pay lines.
The most popular Aristocrat casino game is Queen of the Nile which most experienced Aussie casino players have heard of or more likely, played on.
6. The high-rollers in Australia can spend as much as a minimum of $1500 an hour – The high roller is someone who wagers large sums of money and tends to have multiple advantages because the play on high limit slots as they offer a higher payout percentage and have access to their own exclusive bonus deals and VIP sections where benefits seem to reap.
The life of a high-roller can seem very exciting but don’t be fooled, they gamble away a lot of money hence why the casino companies keep them happy with gifts and trips to keep them coming.
A high-roller is someone who can afford to spend big batches of money on casino gambling and Australia’s most famous high-roller Kerry Packer won $26 million dollars on a six hand of blackjack. Kerry had bet $200,000 on that hand which resulted in a much bigger win.
Another famous high-roller was Australia’s famous real-estate salesman Harry Kakavas, who gambled away $1.5 billion in over 12 months until the moment when he took home a jackpot of $30 million. Mr. Kakavas would on average spend $300,000 on a blackjack hand. Because of his big spending amounts on the casinos, Harry got treated like a superstar. His VIP gifts included being flown overseas in private jets, gift boxes with real money containing $50,000 dollars for him to spend on the casino table. One night he lost as much as $2.3 million in less than 30 minutes.
7. According to the Australian Productivity Report, the gambling industry contributes to local communities – Although people are worried that the gambling industry seems to take more than giving, that is not true. The gambling industry in Australia makes various contributions to the local communities such as improving the communities security and making more accessible venues. Unfortunately, gambling is a regressive tax that has fallen on the less privileged with a small income.
The Australian government reaps of the gambling industries tax due to investments into gambling companies that attract more jobs in Australia. Certain Australian states have legalized gambling to support education and public services because of its continued economic growth.
8. 600,000 Aussies gamble on pokies once a week – As you can see there are a lot of Australians using gambling as a weekly activity. Gambling can be a lot of fun if played responsibly but it can also result in unexpected losses and go very quickly from an innocent game to a problem affecting your life and economy. This is why it is so important to practice responsible gambling that the regulators have put in place.
Setting limits is a great start to make sure you don’t go over your spending limit. The online casino companies have wagering limits that you can very easily put in place when you register with them before you start spinning the reels.
Have a separate account to spend on your gambling activity is also a brilliant way of avoiding any unexpected losses. By separating your monthly household income and your hobbies, you can comfortably play without worrying spending too much in your account.
Playing on specific days gives you room to look forward to having a little bit of extra fun. Gambling should not be a given, it should be a fun treat after a hard working week.
9. You are more likely to be bitten by a snake than winning a jackpot on a pokies game – The a 5 reel classic slot game gives you the odds of winning a jackpot 1 in 9,765,625. This means you have a better chance of being bit from a poisonous bite (1 in 1,000,000) or getting struck by lightning 1 in 1,603,250). No one is trying to get bit by a snake or hit by lightning so we will take those pokies odds.
10. Australian problem gamblers contribute to 40% of the casino’s income – Out of the 600,000 weekly gamblers in Australia, 95,000 of the players are problem gamblers and 280,000 players are at moderate risk of gambling addiction.
There has been a rough calculation of $3,700 in losses in average per player. There is a long list of harmful effects of problem gambling such as anxiety, depression, suicide, losing friends and family, losing your job and home, going into lifelong debts, bankruptcy, crime and developing other addictions such alcohol or other substances.
Due to the above reasons, the gambling regulators
have made sure the casino companies follow very strict rules to prevent players from getting into a financial or life-threatening situation. Any casino companies that break the regulations can get a very big fine or lose their casino license.