Hacker News Reader

I own a bar and a few of these machines, and I can assure you they don't work that way. (I have several family members who believe they do, though)

Each spin has an equal chance of winning. The payback is adjustable in the software, but it does not pay extra when it's behind.

Of course, sometimes the jackpot is larger and that's a better time to play (but still not a good time).

View on HN

In the US & AU, I know they use a Theoretical Hold Worksheet which pre-specifies the win/lose ratios and is required for every machine. That worksheet doesn't make use of past wins/loses, i.e. it is stateless. This matches what you say.

However, I do not know what the situation is in the UK/EU at present, and I do not know what it was 20 years ago (when my brother was working there).

In the UK, it's common for gambling machines in places like pubs to have "compensated" payout odds that are are dependent on the history of wins/losses. Odd quirk of our regulations.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com