Pokie

Australian slang term for a slot machine, so-named because Australian's call slot machines "poker machines".

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Obviously, pokie is a shortened version of poker machine. Pokies are defined as any casino gambling machine which has 3 or more spinning reels to determine whether the player wins a prize or loses their wager. Pokies are hugely popular among the Australian gambling public, and generally thought to be more popular in Australia than slot machines are in America (if that's possible). In fact, Australian authorities have tried to write stricter laws against pokies, because of the fervor Australians have for their poker machines.

Aristocrat Gaming is the largest producer of Australian-style poker machines in the world, and Aristocrat markets 90% of the poker machines in Australia. That's servicing a whole lot of pokies, because Australian poker machines do over $150 billion in business every year. There is one pokie machine for every 80 Australians. To combat concerns about over-gambling on pokies, the Australian government has passed laws to restrict poker machines in certain sections of the country. That's unlikely to stop Australian gamblers' love of the pokie.