Australia's Gambling Industries - Productivity Commission

A once a week hourly session of gambling will produce significant differences in
returns from week to week. It would not be unusual to win $100 in one week and
lose $100 in the next. In the game simulated by the Commission, around one in five
are net winners in any given hourly session (figure U.3).
Figure U.3
Distribution of player losses associated with different periods
of play a 0.00
6.00
5.00
Distribution of one
hour session losses
Loss
Frequency (%)
4.00
3.00
2.00
Win
Frequency (%)
12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
Monthly distribution
of player losses
1.00
Player losses
-$562 to -$557
-$484 to -$480
-$333 to -$328
-$268 to -$264
-$203 to -$199
-$138 to -$134
-$73 to -$69
-$9 to -$4
$56 to $60
$121 to $125
Player losses ($)
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
Yearly distribution
of losses
2.00
0.00
-$570 to -$553
-$484 to -$467
Player wins
-$397 to -$380
-$311 to -$294
-$225 to -$207
-$138 to -$121
Player losses ($)
-$52 to -$35
$35 to $52
$121 to $138
$207 to $225
$294 to $311
5.00
0.00
$449 to $674
$674 to $899
$899 to $1123
$1123 to $1348
$1348 to $1572
$1572 to $1797
$1797 to $2022
$2022 to $2246
Player losses ($)
a Based on varying simulations of a gaming machine as noted in the accompanying table. A minus value
indicates a win (ie a negative cost).
Data source: Commission simulations.
Over a month, however, returns are much less volatile, with significantly reduced
probabilities of being a winner overall. Now only 7 per cent are net winners in any
given month. And over the year none won in 1000 simulations undertaken. The
average recorded a loss of $1365 and the least loss was $484. Over a lifetime of
HOW GAMING
MACHINES WORK
U.9