British Slot Machines
In Britain, slot machines are commonly known as Fruit machines, Bandits and AWP (Amusement with Prizes).
Fruit machines (sometimes called "Didlers") are usually found in pubs, clubs, arcades, and some take-away food shops. These machines commonly have 3 or 6 reels with around 16 or 24 fruit symbols printed around them. These reels are spun, and if certain combinations of fruit appear, winnings are paid from the machine, or sub-games are played. However, the jackpots from these fruit machines are quite limited.
The cost of an individual slot machine game may not exceed 50p. The maximum payout for an individual game depends on the type and the location of the machine, but is typically £35 in pubs where people under the age of 18 are not allowed entry.
It is known for slot machines to payout multiple jackpots, one after the other (this is known as a streak) but each jackpot requires a new game to be played so as not to circumvent the maximum payout.
The minimum payout percentage is 70% in Britain, with pubs often setting the payout at around 78%. Private members clubs are allowed "club machines", which have higher jackpots and are allowed to charge more per game.
These machines also operate in a different fashion to American slot machines; whereas slots are programmed to pay a percentage over the long-run, there is no reason why a jackpot cannot be paid straight after one has already been won - this is because over the long-run the percentage payout will be the same.
However, in the UK, a fruit machine takes on an amount above its payout percentage before winning, so if a payout is 95%, a machine will make the player lose £10 before paying out £9.50. As such, it is sensible to watch for people playing these machines but not winning as the likelihood of a win increases. This, however, is called Sharking.
This type of fruit machine is popular across Europe (in the countries where they are legal), and very popular in countries such as the Czech Republic, Russia, and Ukraine.
