Player Information
What is gambling?
Gambling involves the staking of money or items of value on the outcome of an uncertain event that is determined by chance.
Three types of activities are generally included in the definition:
- Gaming is the exchange of an item of value according to the outcome of a game (eg cards, roulette, electronic gambling devices).
- Betting or Wagering is where wagers are placed on the outcome of a race or sporting event.
- Lotteries are where distribution of money occurs by random draw.
Know the facts
The odds of winning differ for different types of gambling activities, but one element stays the same – the odds always favour the house.
In Queensland clubs and hotels, electronic gaming machines (poker machine) return between 85% and 92% of the amount bet back to the gambler on average.
This means 8 -15% of money bet is retained by gambling venues.
An 85% return means that for every dollar placed in a poker machine, 85 cents is typically returned to the gambler over the life of the machine usually 3-4 years. A player can't expect to receive 85 cents for every dollar bet in a single gaming session.
In sports and racing betting, the odds change depending on the team or horse, past performances and conditions on the day. The TAB or sports betting agency will display the odds.
For lottery products, Golden Casket has information available through newsagents and on the Golden Casket website advising the odds of winning for lottery products such as Gold Lotto, Powerball and Scratch-its.
Casinos provide information on each of their table games and gaming machines. Brochures are available at the customer information desk and online if you would like to find out more.
Odds of winning
- Odds of winning 1st division in Gold Lotto (1 game) – 1 in 8,145,060
- Odds of winning top prize on a poker machine (playing maximum lines) – up to 1 in 7,000,000
- Odds of winning 1st division in Powerball (1 game) – 1 in 54,979,155
- Odds of picking the trifecta in a 13 horse race – 1 in 1,716
- Odds of winning the 10 number jackpot on Keno (1 game) - 1 in 8,911,711
- Odds of winning 1st division in Gold Lotto (1 game) – 1 in 8,145,060
The truth about gaming machines
You can never predict how each play on a gaming machine will end and none of these factors make a difference:
- the last time the machine paid out
- anything you or anyone else does to the machine
- how much you bet
- how long you have been playing
- past and future plays
- the time of day.
For more information on ‘The Truth about Gaming Machines’, download a fact sheet in:
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(Player information displays
Most new gaming machines installed in Queensland after 1 November 2006 have a player information display.
The Player Information Display screen gives the following information:
- the symbol(s) which has the highest paying prize and the amount of the maximum prize
- the number of lines you will need to play and the required bet per line to win the maximum prize
- how much you will spend each game if you make this choice
- on average, how much you will spend per minute and per hour
- the odds of winning the maximum prize.