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Are Online Pokies Rigged? How Pokies Work and Who Tests Them

Updated 17 October 2026 · 7 min read · 18+ · How this site is funded

Victoria’s gambling regulator says pokies are designed to make money for the venue operator and are routinely tested for fairness; the result of each spin is picked at random, and for online pokies what is checked depends on the regulator that licensed the site.

How pokies work: a random result at the press of a button

A pokie is a computer: a program called a random number generator (RNG) picks the result when you press spin, and the reels only show it. NSW’s Office of Responsible Gambling puts it this way: “When you press the spin button, the machine picks an unpredictable result at random. Each spin is independent, which means what happened on the last spin has no effect on what will happen next.”

The Australian/New Zealand Gaming Machine National Standard (Revision 12.1, May 2025) says RNG outcomes must be proven to “be statistically independent”, “be uniformly distributed over their range”, “pass various recognised statistical tests” and “be unpredictable”. The software “must not determine the outcome of a play” before the player has made every choice in it.

These sources describe machines in Australian pubs, clubs and casinos. For online pokies, the UK Gambling Commission requires results to be “acceptably random”, and labs test them against standards such as GLI-19: see who tests online pokies.

What RTP means, and why you still lose

A random result does not mean you break even: a pokie’s return to player (RTP) is an average below 100%, measured over a very long run. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) says RTP “Is calculated over a long period of time (thousands or millions of spins)”, “Does not apply to a single player or session” and “Does not guarantee you will get a certain amount back”.

On our arithmetic, a pokie set to 96% RTP is built to keep 4 cents of every dollar staked over the long run: A$40 on A$1,000 of spins, on average. One session can end far above or below that.

Each game has its own RTP. How to check it for the game in front of you is in our guide to best paying online pokies; why pokies have no single house edge, on our house edge page.

Minimum returns on Australian venue machines

These are rules for machines in pubs, clubs and casinos; the pages that set them out do not deal with online pokies.

  • Victoria. The VGCCC: “In Victoria, poker machines must meet a minimum RTP (generally around 85% or higher).” The state’s responsible gambling training glossary: “In Victoria this is a minimum of 85 per cent and is calculated over a year.”
  • New South Wales. GambleAware NSW: “Gaming machines are required to return 85-92% of all money bet over their lifetime.”
  • Queensland. Gambling Help Queensland, funded by the state government: “The Return to Player (RTP) variations allowed for games in clubs and hotels are from 85% to 92% and for casinos it is 85% or higher.” In clubs and hotels the return “is likely to be achieved over the life of the machine, usually 3-4 years.”

The periods differ, a year, the machine’s lifetime or three to four years, so the figures cannot be compared directly.

Who tests online pokies

Online pokies are tested by laboratories against a regulator’s rules, and what is required depends on the regulator that licensed the site.

UK Gambling Commission. Its standard RTS 7, last updated 7 May 2024, has the aim “To ensure that games and other virtual events operate fairly.” Results must be “acceptably random”, and “Adaptive behaviour (that is, a compensated game) is not permitted.”

Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). Directive 3 of 2018 says a game whose random number generator or game engine has not already been approved needs “the prior written approval of the Authority”. The MGA’s 2018 audit manual tells auditors to collect the licensee’s RNG certificates and to check that games are monitored so that the average RTP is 92% or higher.

The labs, about themselves. GLI-19 (version 3.0) says the test laboratory “shall review the source code pertaining to any and all core randomness algorithms” and evaluates tests “at a 99% confidence level.” eCOGRA, which calls itself “an independent test lab with no affiliation to the gambling platform”, lists source code review, statistical analysis and periodic testing. iTech Labs says it tests risks such as “game implementation not matching game rules, or RTP”.

RequirementVenue machine in AustraliaGame licensed by the UKGCGame licensed by the MGA
The RNG is testedNational standard, clause 8.7; in Queensland, by the state Technical Unit or licensed testing facilitiesResults must be “acceptably random” (RTS 7A)Prior approval for an RNG not already approved; auditors collect RNG certificates
The game may not adjust to resultsEach spin is independent (NSW, Victoria, Queensland)Compensated games not permitted (RTS 7A)Not in the MGA passages quoted here
Rules may not change while the game is liveQueensland: a venue may change a game’s variation once per monthOnly as the game rules provide, and players must be told (RTS 7D)Not in the MGA passages quoted here
Minimum returnSet by each state; see venue minimumsRTS 7 sets no minimum returnAuditors check for an average RTP of 92% or higher

For players in Australia, ACMA lists online casinos among the services the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 bans; see Online pokies and Australian law.

What a test certificate covers and what it does not

A lab test is about the game and its RNG, not about the casino that runs it. The lab passages quoted above cover source code, RNG output, game rules and RTP; none of them is about whether a casino pays withdrawals or which RTP version it chose to run.

Our own data show what a published figure means in practice. In our bet-log study, two Australian accounts played 1,009,615 spins and got back 95.8 per cent combined, while published returns for their games sit in the mid-nineties. The same page says a bet log cannot audit a random number generator.

Pokie myths and what the sources say

  • Myth: “Machines are rigged.” The VGCCC, about Victorian venue machines: “The truth is, pokies are designed to make money for the venue operator, and the odds of winning big are extremely low. Pokies are also routinely tested and regulated for fairness.”
  • Myth: a pokie can be due to pay. GambleAware NSW, venue machines: “Pokies are never 'due for a win'. You cannot predict when there may be a pay out.”
  • Myth: a losing streak will be made up. Gambling Help Queensland, venue machines: “The game will not compensate you with a big win if you have had lots of small losses.”
  • Myth: the time of day matters. Gambling Help Queensland lists the time of day among factors that make no difference on venue machines. GambleAware NSW: “Strategies, lucky charms, or specific timing will not improve your chances.”
  • Myth: near misses mean a win is close. Gambling Help Queensland, venue machines: “There is no such thing as near misses.” For games licensed in Great Britain, RTS 7C bans “substituting losing events with near-miss losing events”.

Whether a pokie tightens after a big win is answered in the FAQ below.

Online pokies and Australian law

The state minimums cover venue machines; online pokies are on ACMA’s list of illegal online services. The Australian Communications and Media Authority says “The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia.” It names “online casinos” among banned services and “slots (pokies)” among illegal online services.

ACMA warns that such services “will not give you the same customer protection as a licensed service”, and that Australian regulators will not be able to help if the provider “withholds your winnings”. Our page on Australian online gambling law covers the detail.

If you think a game was unfair. Our guide to online casino complaints explains taking a dispute to the casino’s licensing authority.

Provably fair crash and instant games

Some crash and instant games use a method the studio Spribe calls provably fair. Spribe says for its own games that a hashed server seed is “available publicly before round starts” and is combined with players’ client seeds into a SHA512 hash, and that “Fairness of each game round can be checked and verified.” More on our crash games page.

Safer play. ACMA gives the national gambling helpline as 1800 858 858. You can self-exclude from all licensed Australian online and phone wagering at betstop.gov.au; it does not cover offshore casinos. You must be 18 or over. More contacts are on our support resources page.

Pokies fairness FAQ

Are online pokies rigged?

It depends on the licence. For games licensed in Great Britain, results must be “acceptably random” and compensated games are not permitted. A random game is still built to keep money: a pokie set to 96% RTP keeps 4 cents of every dollar over the long run (our arithmetic).

Are pokies rigged in Australia?

For venue machines, Victoria’s regulator says pokies are designed to make money for the venue operator and are routinely tested and regulated for fairness. States set return rules: around 85% or higher in Victoria, 85-92% in NSW and in Queensland clubs and hotels.

Are poker machines rigged?

Gambling Help Queensland says each machine’s hardware, software, artwork and mathematics are tested by the state Technical Unit or licensed testing facilities. The national standard requires RNG results that are independent, uniformly distributed and unpredictable.

Do pokies tighten after a big win?

Not on venue machines, says Gambling Help Queensland: “The chances of winning are always the same.” For games licensed in Great Britain, RTS 7A guidance “prohibits automatic or manual interventions that change the probabilities of game outcomes occurring during play.”

Is the gamble feature on pokies rigged?

On venue machines tested against the national standard, the gamble feature “Must have a theoretical RTP of 100%”, with at most five attempts per win; we have not checked how each state applies it. GLI-19, the lab standard for online games quoted above, says a double-up/gamble feature “shall have a theoretical return to the player of one hundred percent (100%)”; that binds games tested to GLI-19 and does not show that every online pokie was.

How do pokies work?

A random number generator picks the result when you press spin, and the reels only display it. Each spin is independent of the last, and the game’s RTP, which is below 100%, is an average over a very long run.

Sources and method

Written by: Helene Berner · First published: 17 October 2026 · Last updated: 17 October 2026

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