Gambling in the 21st century is miles and miles away from what it used to be in the 20th century, with crucial technological advances having been made that have resulted in things like online casino and online slots being possible – play Fluffy Favourites. It is truly difficult to understate the impact of online slots in particular, as these infectious online gambling games now account for over 30% of global gambling revenue, and that’s less than 20 years since their initial inception too!

Oh yes, online slots definitely rule the roost when it comes to gambling in the 21st century, and they have become such a global phenomenon that there are people spinning the reels of their favourite slot games in all corners of the globe. There have also been various offshoots such as slingo over the past two decades, which leads us on to pokies. What are pokies? And how do they relate to slots? Keep reading to find out!

An overview of a pokie

So then, what exactly is a pokie? A pokie is an incredibly fun and infectious gambling unit that can either work using a physical set of spinning reels, or a digital set of reels on a screen. There are a variety of symbols on these reels, which can range in number from 3 to as many as 6, or in some much rarer cases even more.

In order to win a range of jackpot prizes players have to match these symbols together by spinning the reels, and in modern times there are also a range of different bonus features too. By now you are probably thinking that a pokie sounds very much like a slot machine or online slot, and that’s because it is!

What country uses the term pokie and why?

Pokie is a term that is used extensively in New Zealand and Australia, however there are bound to be gamblers all around the world that use the word too. With that being said, however, the term pokie was definitely pioneered in Australia and New Zealand, coming to life because of the slang phrase “poking” a slot machine.

In many ways pokie is a great way to sum up Australian and New Zealander culture too, as it exemplifies the way in which these English speaking southern hemisphere countries have made their own distinct dialect. So, if you’re ever down under and want to give some slot reels a spin you better remember to actually use the phrase pokie!

Pokies and slots: One and the same?

In order to keep things simple here the main thing to remember about pokies in relation to slots is the fact that in the vast majority of cases they are pretty much the same.

You can think of pokies as a slang term most of the time, however there is also the possibility that you will find pokies in Australia or New Zealand that work in a slightly different way to your conventional slot machine.