Slots Regulations

United States

In the United States, the public and private availability of slot machines are heavily regulated by state governments. Many states have established gaming control boards to regulate the ownership and use of slots and other forms of gaming.

Nevada is the only state that does not have significant restrictions against slot machines for both public and private use. In New Jersey, slot machines are only permitted at casino hotels operated in Atlantic City. Several states (Indiana, Louisiana, and Missouri) allow slot machines (as well as any casino-type game) only on licensed riverboats or permanently anchored barges. 

Since Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi has removed the requirement that Gulf Coast casinos operate on barges and now allows them on land along the shore. Delaware authorizes slot machines on three racetracks; they are regulated by the state lottery commission. In Wisconsin, bars and taverns are allowed to have up to five machines. These machines generally allow a player to either receive a payout or bet it on a double or nothing “side game”.

The territory of Puerto Rico places significant restrictions on slot machine ownership, but the law is widely flouted and slot machines are common in bars and coffee shops.

With respect to tribal casinos located on Native American reservations, slot machines played against the house and operating independently of a centralized computer system are classified as “Class III” games by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). , and sometimes promoted as “Vegas-style” slots. In order to offer Class III games, tribes must enter into a pact (agreement) with the state that is approved by the Home Office, which may contain restrictions on the types and quantity of such games. 

To work around this problem, some casinos may use slot machines as “class II” games, a category that includes games where players play exclusively against at least one other opponent and not against the house, such as bingo or any other associated game (such as drawbars). In these cases, the reels are an entertainment display with a predetermined outcome based on a centralized game being played against other players. Under the IGRA.

Some historical racing betting terminals operate in a similar fashion, with the machines using slot machines as an entertainment display for the results paid using the mutual betting system, based on the results of randomly selected horse races. and previously organized (the player being able to see race details and adjust their choices before playing the credit, or using an automatic betting system). 

Private property

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia impose no restriction on private ownership of slot machines. Conversely, in Connecticut, Hawaii, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee, private ownership of any slot machine is completely prohibited. Other states allow slot machines of a certain age (usually 25 to 30 years old) or slot machines made before a specific date. For a detailed list of state-by-state regulations on private slot machine ownership, see the United States State Slot Machine Ownership Regulations.

Canada

The Government of Canada has minimal involvement in the game beyond the Canadian Criminal Code. Essentially, the term “lottery system” used in the code refers to slot machines, bingo, and table games normally associated with a casino. These fall under the jurisdiction of the province or territory without reference to the federal government; in practice, all Canadian provinces operate gaming authorities that supervise the lotteries, casinos, and video lottery terminals under their jurisdiction.

OLG piloted a slot machine rating system at the Grand River Raceway developed by University of Waterloo professor Kevin Harrigan as part of its PlaySmart Responsible Gaming initiative. Inspired by nutrition labels on foods, they displayed metrics like volatility and frequency of payments. OLG has also deployed electronic gaming machines with predetermined outcomes based on a bingo or pull-out game, initially referred to as “TapTix”, which visually resemble slot machines.

Australia

In Australia, “poker machines” or “pokies” are officially called “gaming machines”. In Australia, slot machines are the responsibility of state governments, so laws vary from state to state. Slot machines can be found in casinos (about one in each major city), pubs, and clubs in some states (usually sports, social, or RSL clubs). 

The first Australian state to legalize this style of play was New South Wales when in 1956 they were made legal at all registered clubs in the state. Some suggest that the proliferation of poker machines has led to increased levels of problem gambling; however, the precise nature of this link is still open to research.

In 1999, the Australian Productivity Commission reported that almost half of Australia’s slots were in New South Wales. At the time, 21% of all slots in the world were running in Australia, and on a per capita basis, Australia had about five times as many slots as the United States. Australia ranks 8th for the total number of slots after Japan, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany. 

This is mainly because slot machines have been legal in the state of New South Wales since 1956; over time the number of machines increased to 97,103 (as of December 2010, including the Australian Capital Territory). For comparison, the US state of Nevada.

Revenue from slot machines in pubs and clubs represents more than half of the $ 4 billion in gaming revenue collected by state governments in the fiscal year 2002-03.

In Queensland, gambling machines in pubs and clubs must provide an 85% return rate, while machines located in casinos must provide a 90% return rate. Most other states have similar provisions. In Victoria, gaming machines must provide a minimum payout rate of 87% (including jackpot contribution), including Crown Casino machines.

As of December 1, 2007, Victoria banned slot machines that accepted $ 100 bills; all slot machines manufactured since 2003 respect this rule. This new law also banned machines with an automatic play option. An exception exists in Crown Casino for any player with a VIP loyalty card: they can still insert $ 100 bills and use an autoplay feature (the machine will automatically play until the credit runs out or the player intervenes). 

All gambling machines in Victoria have a screen of information accessible to the user by pressing the “I key” button, showing the rules of the game, the paytable, the percentage of return to the player, and the five upper and lower combinations with their odds. These combinations are indicated to be played on a minimum bet (usually 1 credit per line, with 1 line or reel played, although some newer machines do not have the option to play 1 line; some machines may only allow the number number of lines to play), excluding feature payouts.

Western Australia has the most restrictive regulations on electronic gaming machines in general, with Crown Perth Casino the only place allowed to operate them, and banning slot machines with spinning reels entirely. This policy had a long political history, reaffirmed by the Royal Commission on Gambling of 1974: 

Poker machine gambling is a crazy, repetitive and insidious form of gambling that has many unwanted characteristics. It does not require any thinking, skills, or social contact. The odds are never to win. Watching people play the machines for long periods of time, the impressionistic evidence is at least that they are addictive for a lot of people. Historically, poker machines have been banned in Western Australia and we believe that, in the public interest, they should remain banned.

Although the gaming machines in Western Australia are similar to those in other states, they do not have spinning reels. Therefore, different animations are used instead of the spinning reels in order to display each game result.

Nick Xenophon was elected on an independent No Pokies ticket to the South Australia Legislative Council in the 1997 South Australian state election at 2.9%, re-elected in the 2006 election at 20.5%, and elected to the Australian Senate in the 2007 federal elections on 14.8 percent. 

Independent candidate Andrew Wilkie, an anti-pokies activist, was elected to Denison’s seat in the Australian House of Representatives in the 2010 federal election. Wilkie was one of four crossbenchers who supported the work of the Gillard government after the suspended parliament result. Wilkie immediately began to bond with Xenophon as soon as it was obvious he was elected. In return for Wilkie’s support.

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, all establishments across the country that facilitated poker machines were closed, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, thereby reducing the use of poker machines in Australia to zero.

Russia

In Russia, “slot machine clubs” appeared quite late, only in 1992. Prior to 1992, slot machines were only available in casinos and small shops, but later slot machine clubs were available. started to appear all over the country. The most popular and numerous were “Vulcan 777” and “Taj Mahal”. Since 2009, when gambling establishments were banned, almost all slot machine clubs have disappeared and are only found in specially authorized gaming areas.

UK

Slot machines are covered by the Gambling Act 2005, which replaced the Gaming Act 1968.

Slot machines in the UK are classified according to definitions produced by the Gambling Commission under the Gambling Act 2005.

Casinos built under the provisions of the 1968 Act are permitted to house up to twenty BD category machines or any number of CD machines. As defined by the 2005 law, large casinos can have a maximum of 150 machines in any combination of categories B through D (subject to a machine/table ratio of 5: 1); small casinos can have a maximum of eighty machines in any combination of categories B through D (subject to a machine-to-table ratio of 2: 1).

Category A

Category A games have been defined in view of the planned “Super Casinos”. Despite a lengthy bidding process with Manchester being chosen as the intended single location, the development was canceled shortly after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As a result, there is no legal Category A games in the UK

Category B

Category B games are divided into subcategories. The differences between B1, B3, and B4 games are mainly the stake and the prices as defined in the table above. Category B2 games – Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) – have quite a different wagering and prize rules: FOBTs are mostly found in licensed betting shops, or bookmakers, usually in the form of electronic roulette…

The games are based on a random number generator; thus the probability of each game hitting the jackpot is independent of any other game: the probabilities are all equal. If a pseudo-random number generator is used instead of a truly random one, the probabilities are not independent since each number is determined at least in part by the one generated before it.

Category C

Category C games are often referred to as slots, one-armed bandits, and AWP(fun with price). Slot machines are commonly found in pubs, clubs, and arcades. Machines usually have three, but can be found with four or five reels, each with 16-24 symbols printed around them. 

The reels are rotated with each game, from which the appearance of particular combinations of symbols results in the payment of their associated winnings by the machine (or alternatively the launch of a sub-game). These games often have many additional features, tracks, and sub-games with opportunities to win money; usually more than what can be won from payouts on combinations of reels.

Slot machines in the UK almost universally have the following characteristics, usually selected at random using a pseudorandom number generator:

• A player (known in the industry as a bettor ) may be given the option of holding one or more reels before spinning, meaning they will not be spun but will instead keep their symbols displayed but will normally count towards that game. This can sometimes increase the chances of winning, especially if two or more reels are held.
• A player can also receive a number of strokes of the elbow to the result of one round (or, in some machines, following a subset). A nudge is a step rotation of a reel chosen by the player (the machine may not allow all reels to be pushed for a particular game).
• Tips may also be made available on the Internet or through email newsletters to subscribers. These cheats give the player the impression of an advantage when in reality the payout percentage stays exactly the same. The most commonly used cheat is known as nudge hold and increases the chances of the player winning from an unsuccessful nudge.
  Machines of the early 1990s did not herald the concept of holding onto a nudge when this feature was first introduced, it became so well known to gamers and prevalent among newer versions of machines that it is now well advertised on the machine during play.
  This is characterized by messages on the screen such as DON’T HOLD ANY or LET ‘EM SPIN and is a designed feature of the machine, not a cheat at all. Holding the same pair three times out of three consecutive spins also gives a guaranteed payout on most machines that offer holds.

It is known that machines pay out multiple jackpots, one after another (this is called a streak or rave ) but each jackpot requires a new game to be played so as not to break the law. the maximum payout on a single game. Usually, this involves the player pressing only the start button for which a single credit is taken, whether or not this causes the reels to spin. The minimum payout percentage is 70%, with ads often setting the payout at around 78%.

Japan

Further information: Pachinko
Japanese slot machines, known as pachisuro (パ チ ス ロ) or pachislot from the words “pachinko” and “slot machine”, are a descendant of the traditional Japanese game of pachinko. Slot machines are a fairly new phenomenon and are mostly found in pachinko lounges and adult sections of arcades, known as gaming centers.

The machines are regulated with integrated circuits and have six different levels changing the odds of a 777. The levels provide an approximate score between 90% and 160% (200% for qualified players). Japanese slot machines are “beatable”. 

Salon operators naturally set most machines to simply collect money, but intentionally place a few pay machines on the floor so that there is at least someone who wins, encouraging players on the floor. losing machines to keep playing, using the psychology of the gamer fallacy.

Despite the many varieties of pachislot machines, there are certain rules and regulations offered by the Security Electronics and Communication Technology Association (保安 電子 通信 技術 協会), a subsidiary of the National Police Agency. For example, there must be three rollers. 

All coils must have buttons that allow players to stop them manually, the coils cannot spin more than 80 RPM, and the coils must stop within 0.19 seconds of pressing a button. In practice, this means that the machines cannot let more than 4 symbols slide on the reels. Other rules include a payout cap of 15 coins, a cap of 50 credits on machines, a maximum bet of 3 coins, and other such regulations.

Although a payout of 15 coins may seem quite small, the regulations allow both “Big Bonus” (around 400 to 711 coins) and “Regular Bonus” (around 110 coins) modes where these 15 coin payouts occur almost continuously. until the bonus mode is over. . While the machine is in bonus mode, the player is entertained with special winning scenes on the LCD screen, and energizing music is heard, pay after pay.

Three other unique features of Pachisuro machines are “stock”, “renchan” and tenjō (天井). On many machines, when enough money to afford a bonus is collected, the bonus is not immediately awarded. Typically, the game simply stops sliding the reels of bonus symbols for a few games. If the player fails to collect the bonus during these “standby games”, it is added to “stock” for later collection. 

Many current games, after completing a bonus round, fix the probability of releasing additional stock (obtained from previous players who didn’t get a bonus the last time the machine stopped sliding the reels a bit) very high for the first few games. As a result, a lucky player can play multiple bonus rounds in a row (a “renchan”), which allows winnings of 5,000 or even 10,000 coins. 

The allure of the “stock” waiting in the machine, and the ability to “renchan” tease the player to keep feeding the machine. To tease them further, there is atenjō (cap), a maximum limit on the number of sets between the “stock” release. For example, if the tenjō is 1,500 and the number of games played since the last bonus is 1,490, the player is guaranteed to release a bonus in just 10 games.

With the “stock”, “renchan” and tenjō systems, it is possible to earn money simply by playing machines on which someone has just lost a huge amount of money. This is called being a “hyena”. They are easy to recognize, walking the aisles for a “Kamo” (“sucker” in English) to come out of his machine.

In short, regulations allowing “stock”, “renchan” and tenjō transformed pachisuro from a low-stake form of entertainment just a few years ago to hardcore gaming. A lot of people can gamble more than they can afford, and the big payouts also attract unsavory “hyena” types to the gambling halls.

To address these social issues, a new regulation (version 5.0) was passed in 2006 which limits the maximum amount of “stock” a machine can hold to around 2,000 to 3,000 bonus game coins. Additionally, all Pachislo machines must be reassessed for regulatory compliance every three years. Version 4.0 was released in 2004, which means that all these machines with up to 10,000 coin payments will be retired from service by 2007.