LevelUp Casino 2026: Why Aussies Call Them Pokies – A Short History of the Poker Machine

In the US the machines are slots. In Australia they're pokies. It's the same game under two names, and the Australian one is closer to the original idea, because the first gambling machines dealt poker hands about 130 years ago.

At LevelUp Casino we use both words every day. Below is where the Australian name comes from, how the machine changed along the way, and how pokies became part of pub and club life.

Why are they called pokies?

"Pokies" is short for poker machines. Australians shorten many everyday words and add -ie on the end, as in barbie, brekkie, footy and sunnies. Poker machines became pokies the same way.

There's also a historical reason. The first gambling machines actually played poker. The name described what the machine did, and in Australia it stayed in use after the machines changed.

1891: a poker game in a box

In 1891, the Brooklyn company Sittman and Pitt built a coin-operated machine with five drums holding 50 playing cards. You put in a nickel, pulled the lever and waited for a poker hand. The machine didn't pay out on its own. A winning hand, such as a pair of kings, earned a free beer or a cigar from the bartender.

Bars often removed the ten of spades and the jack of hearts from the drums. That roughly halved the chance of a royal flush, so the house edge was built in from the start.

The 1890s: Liberty Bell and the move to symbols

A few years later, Charles Fey in San Francisco built the Liberty Bell. It had three reels instead of five drums, simpler symbols such as horseshoes, stars, bells and a few card suits, and it paid out coins automatically. This design became the American slot machine. The poker hands disappeared, but in Australia the poker name stayed.

How pokies became part of Australian life

Machines appeared in Australian clubs early in the 20th century, mostly in a legal grey area. The bigger changes came state by state:

Aristocrat went on to become one of the largest gaming machine makers in the world, and its machines now sit in venues far beyond Australia.

Pokies by the numbers

Pokies are also the biggest source of gambling losses in Australia. Figures compiled by Monash University for the Alliance for Gambling Reform show:

•       AUD 14.54 billion lost on pokies in pubs and clubs across five states in 2022–23, not counting casinos

•       about AUD 8.07 billion of that in New South Wales, more than half the total

Western Australia doesn't allow poker machines in pubs and clubs at all, so its venues aren't part of these figures. The same Alliance also notes that Australia has about 0.5% of the world's population but around a fifth of its poker machines.

Pokies, slots, fruit machines: one machine, many names

Each English-speaking market settled on its own word. Americans say slots. In Britain they're fruit machines, after the cherry and lemon symbols. "One-armed bandit" comes from the single lever on the side of early machines and their reputation for taking money. New Zealanders say pokies too.

Online, the words overlap. Australians tend to search for "pokies", while most other markets type "slots". That's why we atlevel up casino use both words side by side. The game underneath is the same either way.

Checklist: reading a pokie before you play

These points apply to a machine in a club and to a game on screen:

☐  Find the return to player (RTP) or minimum return on the info screen

☐  Check the maximum bet per spin, and remember that state limits apply in venues

☐  Read how the bonus feature triggers

☐  Note whether a jackpot is linked across machines, since those pay far less often

☐  Set your spend before the first spin

Checklist: tools that help you stay in control

☐  Use your venue's or state's limit-setting options, where available

☐  Know about BetStop, the national self-exclusion register for licensed online wagering

☐  Ask any club about its venue-based self-exclusion program

☐  Save Gambling Help Online's number: 1800 858 858, free and 24/7

☐  Take a break if you notice you're playing to win back losses

FAQ

Do pokies in Australia have a set minimum return?

Yes. Each state sets a minimum percentage that machines must return over time, usually somewhere in the mid-80s to low-90s. It's a long-run average across millions of spins, not something you'll see in a single session.

Is a machine's RTP the same as the state's minimum return?

No. The state minimum is a floor, and each machine's own RTP comes from its game maths and must sit at or above that floor. Two machines in the same venue can have different RTPs, and both describe long-run averages, not how often a single session pays.

Do Australians use "pokies" for casino and online games too?

Yes. In everyday Australian speech, "pokies" covers any slot-style game, whether it's in a club, a casino or on a screen. We use "pokies" and "slots" as the same thing for the same reason.