Pokies is the informal Australian and New Zealand term for slot machines, derived from "poker machines," the video poker and reel-based gaming devices that became fixtures in pubs, clubs, and casinos across both countries from the 1950s onward. The word is so embedded in everyday speech that most Australians use it without ever thinking about its origin. If someone says they're heading to the pokies, they mean a bank of electronic gaming machines, not a poker table.
Where the word "pokies" comes from
The name traces directly to poker machines, a term adopted in Australia and New Zealand for the electromechanical devices that first appeared in licensed venues. Early machines were styled around poker hands, rewarding players for landing combinations like pairs, flushes, or full houses on spinning reels. Over time, the games moved far beyond poker imagery, incorporating video screens, themed graphics, and bonus rounds, but the nickname stuck. "Pokies" is simply the colloquial shortening of "poker machines," the same way "arvo" becomes the afternoon and "servo" becomes the service station.
In the United States and United Kingdom, the same machines go by "slots" or "slot machines," a name that references the coin slot once used to start a game. In pokies, the mechanism is identical. Only the vocabulary differs.
How pokies actually work
Every pokie runs on a random number generator, a computer algorithm that produces thousands of random outcomes per second. The moment you press the spin button, the RNG freezes on a number that maps to a specific reel position. The spinning animation on screen is cosmetic. The result is already decided before the reels stop.
Pokies display symbols across a grid of rows and reels, typically 5 reels by 3 rows, though modern machines vary widely. Wins are paid when matching symbols land across active paylines, which are the set paths the machine checks after each spin. A standard pokie might have 20 or 25 paylines; some feature hundreds of ways to win, counted differently.
Each pokie also carries a published RTP (return to player) figure, expressed as a percentage. An RTP of 92% means the machine is designed to pay back $92 for every $100 wagered over a statistically large number of spins. The remaining 8% is the house's margin, baked into the game's math before a single spin is played.
Pokies in Australia: scale and regulation
Australia has one of the highest concentrations of gaming machines in the world. As of the mid-2020s, New South Wales alone holds more than 80,000 registered gaming machines in clubs, pubs, and casinos. Regulation varies by state and territory, with each jurisdiction setting its own rules on machine numbers, bet limits, and venue licensing. The Australian Gambling Research Centre tracks problem gambling data related to pokies and publishes studies used by state regulators to shape policy.
In New Zealand, pokies are legal in pubs and clubs under strict caps. The government limits the total number of machines in the country and requires a share of gaming profits to go toward community grants, a model unique to New Zealand's licensing framework.
Online pokies
Online pokies work identically to their physical counterparts but are accessible from any device with a browser or app. They run on the same RNG principles, carry published RTP figures, and often feature more bonus content than physical machines can display. Free-play modes let players try games without depositing, which is common practice with free slots offered by most online casinos.
Online pokies also introduce mechanics not possible on physical hardware: expanding wilds, cascading reels, pick-a-prize bonus rounds, and progressive jackpots that pool bets from players across multiple sites. Volatility varies significantly between titles. A high-volatility pokie pays out large sums rarely; a low-volatility pokie pays smaller amounts more often. Neither is better by default. It depends entirely on how you prefer to play.
Key terms to know
- Payline: the path across the reels that the machine checks for winning symbol combinations.
- Wild symbol: a symbol that substitutes for most others to complete a winning line.
- Scatter symbol: a symbol that pays regardless of position and often triggers bonus rounds or free spins.
- Bonus round: a secondary game triggered within the pokie, usually offering free spins or a multiplied prize.
- Max bet: the highest wager a player can place per spin, which affects jackpot eligibility on some machines.
Responsible play
Pokies are designed to be entertaining, but the math inside every machine means the house retains an edge on every spin. No strategy changes this. Players who set a firm budget before sitting down, treat losses as the cost of entertainment, and walk away when that budget is spent are playing in the way the machines were designed to be used. Venues in Australia are required by law to display responsible gambling information, and national programs like GambleAware offer support for anyone whose play becomes harmful.