{"id":36200,"date":"2023-08-18T06:41:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T11:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=36200"},"modified":"2024-06-10T07:48:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T12:48:25","slug":"gas-station-slot-machines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/gas-station-slot-machines\/","title":{"rendered":"Gas Station Slot Machines: Should You Play?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Before you ask ‘Should I play Gas station slots’, let’s take a quick look at exactly what they are. Gas station slot machines are just the newest in a rather long line of gambling devices that purport to be skill games<\/a> or arcade machines. This includes the pinball machine, a notorious gambling device for most of the 20th century, not the benevolent king of the arcade we know today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They attempt to add a layer of skill to allow the machine to exist in a sort of a legal grey area that has been well-plied by its predecessors that are as diverse as Skeeball, Pachinko, and even the type three gaming devices\/bingo card slots once favored by American Indian Tribes before the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of flippers, or steel balls and pegs, today\u2019s \u201cskill\u201d based machines are typically tests of memory, aka the Simon game from the late 70s or Shoot’em style affairs that reward you on targets hit before time runs out. While often entertaining, these bonus rounds have minimal effect on your long-term return to player (RTP), the amount you typically get back after each play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some states like Nevada, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Illinois, actual slot machines\/VGTs can be found in various other venues other than just land-based casinos<\/a>. Depending on the state, they can be found in gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, bars, and even ice cream shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are all licensed and monitored by the state. They will need to meet some RTP minimum that the state and the operators have agreed upon is mutually beneficial to the gamblers and the operators. They will be inspected and taxed by the state\u2019s gaming authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, states like Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky have seen a slew of gas station slots or unregulated skill games installed not only in gas stations but VFWs and the local pizza parlor and, in some extreme cases, entire storefronts at the local mini-mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More importantly, these are not regulated and do not disclose their RTP to players. They also are not inspected by the state or licensed in any way and can sometimes be subject to seizure by local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s Old Is New Again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n