Just how far off is that jackpot?

By Mark Ward
BBC News Online technology correspondent

The whirring, the flashing lights, the ever-present hope of a big payout... whatever keeps players of fruit machines going, campaigners are claiming that the software inside the machines is giving them little or no chance of winning a jackpot.

Questions are being asked about fruit machine payouts

Hardware hackers have found that the majority of UK fruit machines pre-determine every turn of the reels to prevent players winning a gamble for a big payout.

The industry association representing fruit machine makers says the claims are "very misleading" and adds that all machines comply with strict guidelines and procedures.

The investigation comes as the government prepares to reform the gambling industry and bring in a tough testing regime for fruit machines that are currently governed by a voluntary code of practice.

Player plight

The Fairplay Campaign reached its conclusions after investigating the inner workings of many different fruit machines by using hardware emulators.

In the past these emulators have been used to let gamers recreate old arcade games on a desktop PC.

The re-creation is authentic because the emulator uses the game's actual program downloaded from memory chips taken from the arcade machine itself.

Some games of chance are less chancy than others

Fruit machines, like arcade games, can be bought for personal use which has led to the downloading and investigation of the software controlling the run of the reels.

The Fairplay group has emulated the workings of the majority of fruit machines currently in use in the UK and studied what happens at crucial moments, for instance when a player gets a chance to gamble for a big payout.

At these times fruit machines studied by the group stop a player collecting the jackpot no matter which choice they make. One of the machines tested has a hidden display which decides in advance when a player will stop winning.

"This is all absolutely deliberate," says Stuart Campbell, spokesman for the Fairplay Campaign.

"There's certainly no randomness involved," he says. "At times it will throw you a jackpot to keep you interested but most of the time it has a pre-set block on what you can win that will be quite low."

Over the years players could have lost tens of millions of pounds in prize money due to the hidden limits, said Mr Campbell.

Although there are laws governing who can operate or play a fruit machine and where they can be sited, there are no laws governing how much they should pay out or how they should work.

However, fruit machines operate under voluntary industry guidelines that guarantee a 70% payout.

Mr Campbell said that in practice this guarantee meant little because it put no time limit on when 70% of the money taken by a machine should be paid out.

Testing times

"We are not aware that this is a problem," says Cliff Young, head of lotteries and machines at the Gaming Board of Great Britain, which oversees the fruit machine industry.

He says fruit machines were tested by the board so that they met industry agreed standards.

Gambling is popular worldwide

Mr Young says the testing was based on statistics provided by fruit machine makers to ensure that new machines met minimum payouts.

He added that before now the Gaming Board had no reason to go more deeply into the software.

"If this is criminal fraud then it is a matter for the police," he said.

A statement issued by Bacta, the trade association for fruit machine makers, said: "We have seen the comments made by Fairplay Campaign, many of which we think are very misleading."

"All machines manufactured and operated by Bacta members conform to the strict guidelines and compliance procedures, as agreed with the Gaming Board for Great Britain."

The six leading fruit machine makers contacted by BBC News Online declined to comment on the Fairplay findings and said they stood by Bacta's statement.

Mr Young said proposed government reform of the gambling industry would impose a much stricter testing regime and give the Gaming Board the power to prosecute fruit machine makers that break the law.

Mr Campbell, from Fairplay, says the campaign has not ruled out legal action but adds it was lobbying the government to outlaw no-win gambles so fruit machine players have a fairer chance to win.