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Bally Slots Wins Coveted Title of “Best Slots Manufacturer;” Heads to roll at IGT
by spgadmin
On the eve of Super Bowl Sunday, Bally Slots is proudly hoisting its own championship trophy this morning as it won the title of ‘Best Slot Manufacturer’ at the recent 2011 International Gaming Awards.
After winning the prestigious award, Bally Slots spoke with the humility of a true champion: ““It is an honor to be recognized year after year for our achievements in the gaming industry. Innovative slot, systems, and server-based technology is at the heart of Bally Technologies. We take pride in being recognized at the prestigious International Gaming Awards as the Best Slot Manufacturer.”
Bally competed with seven other slot technology companies to take home the prize, described as “the award for the slot manufacturer that has consistently and decisively dominated the slot sector during the year.” According to Clever Duck Media, Ltd., which manages the IGA awards, “the judges looked for the top manufacturer that has the reach and scale to set it apart in this competitive market. The judges, made up of more than two-dozen industry insiders, looked at originality, brand identity, marketing, usability, and scale to make their assessment.”
In other words, the slot designer who makes the machine that is most effective at getting the user to “play to extinction” – until all their money is gone.
While the news of Bally’s big win may have been lost in the news this week, the notoriety of its success will become much larger in future years as slot machines and the government program of predatory gambling emerges as one of the biggest stories of the new decade.
slot machines [poker machines]
I am an Australian and here in Australia we have 20% of the world’s slot machines [or poker machines or pokies as we call them in Australia]
These machines are a national disgrace. In all states of Australia except Western Australia we not only have pokies in the casino but also have them in clubs and pubs.
One only needs to go to a suburban shopping centre where on average there are at least 3 pubs and 2-3 clubs with poker machines in them efectively converting them into mini casinos.
The presence of poker machines in these venues has generally turned them into hideous and soul destroying places where little social interaction occurs, the food and beverage service is mediocre and where mosts of the patrons [customers] are glued to their seats mindlessly playing these machines like Zombies.
What really gets up my nose is that slots are referred to as gaming machines; this is deceptive as they are really gambling machines designed to fleece the lonely, the vulnerable, impressionable of their hard earned dollars. It has been said that those manufacturing gambling machines use the services of psychiatrists and psychologists to devise insidious ways of ensnaring gamblers. I also wonder if subliminal messaging is used in these machines to entice gamblers.
It has been proven here at least in Australia that the social costs of slots easily outweighs any socio-economic benefit.
Oh by the way do not allow slots outside of at least casinos. As I said here in Australia except for Western Australia over 80% of the population is within at most a 5 minute drive from clubs or pubs where pokies proliferate.
This is definitely a human rights issue where here in Sydney I have witnessed a blind woman playing the slots, a single mother with her 3 young kids in tow gambling on the slots, a judge gambling on the slots during working hours, an elderly gent suffering from apparently a serious medical condition gambling on the slots and shaking and a middle aged lady vomiting while gambling on the slots. I all such instances the bar or pub staff turned a blind eye.
I know of someone who is an attorney and over the past 10 years she has lost over $1 million gambling on the slots.
Before I finish I want to point out the slot machine lobby is extremely powerful here in Australia- so much so not only do they have considerable over our major political parties but also sections of the media such as talk back radio where generally the hosts are usually mute in their criticisms of slot machines or veto discussion on the harmful effects of pokies.
I suggest you google ” poker machine addiction in Australia” and you will see that I am not alone in my comments and read about the harm caused by pokies..
The message is simply urge people to boycott gambling on these machines . All the best.
Greg
Excellent post, Greg. These machines are a central part of the most predatory business in the world for the reasons you listed as well as a few others. Keep the pressure on.
slots [or pokies as we call them in Australia]
Thanks Les for your support. All I can say only by strong grass roots support can we get rid of these nefarious machines that have been designed to manipulate and exploit the naive, depressed, lonely and vulnerable amongst us.
Ciao,
Greg
Conquest of America by the gambling industry
As this predatory industry spreads across our nation, it gains ever-increasing influence over our government at all levels. This will continue until our citizens finally wake up to the fact that we have been so very foolish. This is one more adverse effect to the quality of life for our kids and grand kids.
Slots (pokies)
Dave,
you only need to look to Australia where the slot machine industry exerts a very powerful influence over politicians. Some of the promoters of gambling here in Australia are alleged to have links to organized crime or have made death threats against a politician Andrew Wilkie who has campaigned against pokies