Yesterday, more than 30% of Victoria’s pokies were out of commission for hours, thanks to a glitch in Intralot’s new gaming system. Although the new software is meant to make playing pokies a safer and more enjoyable experience, Intralot pokie players were left feeling annoyed and impatient. At 11am, a glitch affected a network of poker machines across Victoria that are operated by Intralot.
Several games were back to normal within a few minutes; however, some players were left waiting for hours to resume gaming or collect their cash. Intralot’s new monitoring system is to blame for the glitch. The company received a 15-year license for the system in 2011, which is aimed at ensuring that players receive fair outcomes and payouts from pokies.
The software gathers wagering information and not only ensures that the games meet return-to-player requirements but also that venue operators are paying the correct amount of taxes. The system aims to benefit players in the long run, but this glitch was certainly a setback. Although the monitoring software has been in place for some time, a coding error managed to slip through the cracks.
As a result, the poker machines disengaged but players’ deposits were not returned to them. For players whose games did not come back online, they were issued a cash payout of up to $200 from the club. Players with more than $200 in credits were required to wait more than two hours until the pokies were restored.
"We are surprised and disappointed that there was this system breakdown," says Brian Kearney of the Australian Hotels Association. Kearney also reports that players were quite understanding and did not make much of a commotion. However, club owners are not at all pleased with the situation.
They claim that the glitch caused them to lose out on up to $20 000 in commission during the hours that the games were not functional. It is likely that they will seek compensation for their losses from Intralot.
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