There were 7,402,395 gambling machines legitimately operated in the world at the end of 2018, it has been revealed by the Gaming Technologies Association, the trade body representing the machine suppliers industry in Australasia.

GTA

The research, conducted through regulatory bodies, government sources, private company research, gaming industry bodies and directly from locations where machines are installed, is carried out by the GTA so help dispel some of the myths surrounding the proportion of gaming machines in its own territory.

“The machines counted are those that are legally installed,” said Chris Muir, CEO of the GTA. “Where illegal machines exist or where there is no regulation, the count is only based upon the numbers of machines that can be verified.”

He added: “The numbers once again dispel myths around the proportion of gaming machine numbers in Australia. It also confirms that Australian gaming machines have some of the world’s lowest maximum bet limits, which is consistent with that we have found in previous surveys.”

The figures show a slight reduction in the number of installed machines in Australia, down 720 to 196,301, and that number represents 2.6 per cent of the world’s legally installed machines.

The biggest installed base of machines is Japan - the figures take into account pachinko and pachislot machines - where there were 4.3 million units. Next comes the US with 898,974, Italy with 320,000, Germany with 277,700, Australia, the UK with 183,813, Spain with 183,409, Canada with 99,521, Argentina with 98,117 and Colombia with 86,629.