For
all the talk about gambling and the sometimes spiteful debate in Australia over
poker machine (slot machine) reform legislation, which if successful, a trial
of the pre-commitment technology would begin in the ACT – it is fascinating to
discover that in 2012 the second highest grossing iPhone App Store is
Slotmania.
It’s a
Casino style app that gives the user a series of online-style slot machines
that you can play directly from your mobile device. And just like the real
poker machines, it has all the Sex and
Sizzle graphics, sound, multiple machines, etc, etc. The games even look
and “feel” like the real deal and have all of the advanced features, including
bonus games, which players have come to expect.
As I say what really caught my attention isn’t so much the application,
and/or the quality of the games – rather I’m so used to looking at say the top
20 free iPhone apps or the top 10 paid apps that I have never stopped to examine
the top grossing apps.
Incidentally the top free iPhone apps in 2012 were:
· YouTube
· Instagram
· Draw Something
Free
The top 3 paid iPhone apps in
2012 were:
· Angry Birds Space
· WhatsApp Messenger
· Draw Something
And, the top 3 grossing
iPhone apps for 2012
· Kingdoms of
Camelot: Battle for the North
· Slotmania
· Pokey
So there you have it, presumably people download the “game” for free and
will then use real money to buy credits to use in these slots. Winnings cannot
be converted back to real cash. Again, this happens to be the second most
grossing app in 2012. It must be a great game.
