Are all money/game machines bad?

[Kerryn Harrington]

Today I watched as a friend of mine pumped $10-$14 into a 'skilltester' machine in a vain attempt to win a few measly chocolate bars that were really of no value to her as she actually had three chocolate bars in her handbag at the time. You insert $2 and then use the controls to move a robotic hand to the chocolate pile and try to pick up a bar which then drops onto a tray with a moving arm pushing the bars closer to the winning slot. You can only win a bar or two if you have a lot there already.

Are these machines bad? Are they a precursor to gambling? Or are they just innocent time wasters?

My friend who was doing this admitted to having had 'problems' with poker machines. She said she had wasted thousands of dollars on them but insists that she is good now. She told me it had been about a month since she played a pokie and she had done this with her husband when they went out for dinner - losing about $150. She said she doesn't really have a problem now that she has him. I asked her what would happen if something happens to him....she admitted she could likely go back to her pokie addiction.

Watching her pointlessly throw money into the chocolate machine just felt like watching a pokie addict. I asked her why she played, did she want the chocolate, did she really think the machine tested her skill or did she just want to 'beat the machine'. She just wanted to beat the machine. I mentioned that the machine is designed to 'win' for itself so how could she really think she would beat it? She shrugged and just said I know, I know.