Australian Gambling History:
From Small Steps to Big Leaps
The first gambling slots in Australia appeared as early as 1900s. But they were made illegal for 50 yrs. A company called aristocrat made the first slot machine called clubman.
Horse racing as the definition of early history of gambling:
The horse racing was the first form of Australian gambling in history starting from the 1800. Until the automatic totalizator was invented in 1913, taking and placing the bets was done Manually. It could automatically calculate race odds depending on the betting patterns. It was invented in Australia by George Julius.
These days Australian horse racing has automatic totalizators, starting dates and photo finish cameras. In the past few years corporate bookmakers who are online and who operate through mobile apps, have become popular through promotion and ease of use. After legalizing betting all this was made possible. Betting brings 7.3 billion dollars annually.
Lottery. When and how:
Many of us have invested in lottery in the past. Even Australians have the love of betting running in their blood. The first lottery in Australia started in Sydney in 1880. It was started by a private company called Tattersall’s.
The Australian govt realized the importance of the income through betting, so it started the govt lottery in Queensland in 1916. It was mainly setup for fundraising and charity.
And in the recent times the earliest modern Australian lottery was made public in early 1970s. This was known as Tattslotto. The money from the lottery was used in raising funds for the State health system. The min age for purchasing lottery ticket is 18 yrs in Australia except in Western Australia where the min age is 16 yrs.
Casinos at the beginning of Australian gambling history:
Casinos in Australia were banned until 1973. It was assumed that the casinos were difficult to manage and that they had a negative impact on the society. The first legal casino in Australia
Was started on 10th February 1973. And it operates till today. The largest gaming centre in Australia has 350 tables and 5000 slots. It is located in Melbourne. There are 15 casinos in Australia which are very luxurious and modern in the world.
Pokies. Enough said:
There is no record in history of when the term pokie was used for video slots in Australia. The word pokie is a slang for poker machines in Australia. The pokies were legalized in Australian Capital history in 1976.
Today Australia has a quarter of all slot machines in the world. About 50% of all them are in New South Wales.
New South Wales – the centre of australian gambling:
NSW is the heart of Australian gambling. In order to capitalize on the money and the interest on the gambling sport, the Victorian Turf club came up with the idea to hold a small race called Melbourne cup. Lottery and betting started here. Opening casinos helped the government.
How is gambling regulated:
The interactive gambling act of 2001, was passed to protect Australian residents from the harmful effects of online gambling. Every part of Australia has come up with its own set of regulations overseeing the betting happening in the country.
Infografic Australian Gambling History
