Gambling Slots In Bars
Introduction to Wisconsin Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
Wisconsin slot machine casino gambling consists of 24 tribal casinos. Illegal video gambling machines exist in bars and taverns throughout Wisconsin.
Tribal-state gaming compacts have minimum and maximum theoretical payout limits. Annual return statistics are publicly available for all tribal casinos.
This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.
2 days ago As with Hotshots Bar & Grill, bars in Illinois are able to have slots and video gaming machines inside, and customers who are 21 years or older are able to play them. Marco Storel/Missourian Facebook. Pennsylvania House lawmakers are moving ahead Wednesday with an expansion of gambling that includes slots-like video gaming terminals in bars, an element that wasn't included a version passed.
Keep Reading … or Watch Instead!
Or … Listen Instead!
Subscribe to my Professor Slots podcast at Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Amazon Audible Gaana Stitcher Pandora iHeart Radio Tune-In SoundCloud RadioPublic Deezer RSS and everywhere else you find your podcasts!
Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Wisconsin*
The minimum legal gambling age in Wisconsin depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21
- Poker Rooms: 18
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
Tribal casinos in Wisconsin have negotiated tribal-state gaming compacts. However, each city or county must agree to both the development of a local tribal casino as well as the games offered at its site.
Further, many bars and taverns in Wisconsin have illegal video gaming machines. Having up to five machines results in civil forfeiture without legal repercussion while more than five machines are, instead, a criminal offense.
Anyone playing pay-to-play, bar-based slot machines must be at least 21. Otherwise, owners break a different law, this one having severe legal consequences for their business.
Electronic gaming machines in bars and taverns which are free to play with no prizes of any value are not illegal under Wisconsin’s gaming regulations.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in Wisconsin
It is legal to own a slot machine privately in Wisconsin if it is 25 years old or older.
Gaming Control Board in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s Gaming Division has gaming regulatory responsibilities including:
- Licensing procedures
- Background investigations
- Regulatory enforcement activities
The Division’s area of focus for tribal gaming is the Office of Indian Gaming and Regulatory Compliance created by tribal-state gaming compacts. The Office’s purpose is to ensure regulation of Class III games at casinos operated by Wisconsin’s eleven tribes.
Casinos in Wisconsin
There are 24 American Indian tribal casinos in Wisconsin.
The largest casino in Wisconsin is Potawatomi Hotel & Casino with over 2,500 slot machines.
The second-largest casino is Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells with 2,200 slot machines.
Commercial Casinos in Wisconsin
There are no commercial casinos in Wisconsin.
Tribal Casinos in Wisconsin
There are 24 tribal casinos in Wisconsin:
- Bad River Lodge Casino in Odanah, 45 miles east of Duluth.
- Grindstone Creek Casino in Hayward, 140 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
- Ho-Chunk Gaming Black River Falls, 110 miles northwest of Madison.
- Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa, 50 miles north of Wausau.
- Ho-Chunk Gaming Tomah, 81 miles north of Madison.
- Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells in Baraboo, 40 miles northwest of Madison.
- Ho-Chunk Gaming Wittenberg, 30 miles east of Wausau.
- Lake of the Torches Resort Casino in Lac du Flambeau, 225 miles north of Green Bay.
- Legendary Waters Resort & Casino in Red Cliff, 80 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota.
- Menominee Casino Resort in Keshena, 40 miles northwest of Green Bay.
- Mole Lake Casino & Lodge in Mole Lake, 100 miles northwest of Green Bay.
- North Star Mohican Casino Resort in Bowler, 55 miles northwest of Green Bay.
- Oneida Casino – Irene Moore Activity Center (IMAC) in Green Bay.
- Oneida Casino – Main-Airport in Green Bay.
- Oneida Casino – One-Stop Packerland in Green Bay.
- Oneida Casino – Travel Center in Pulaski, 12 northwest of Green Bay.
- Oneida Casino – W. Mason in Green Bay.
- Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee
- Potawatomi Carter Casino Hotel in Wabeno, 85 miles north of Green Bay.
- Sevenwinds Casino, Lodge & Convention Center in Hayward, 75 miles southeast of Duluth, Minnesota.
- St. Croix Casino – Danbury, 62 miles south of Duluth near the border to Minnesota
- St. Croix Casino – Hertel in Webster, 83 miles south of Duluth near the border to Minnesota.
- St. Croix Casino – Turtle Lake, 76 miles northeast of Minneapolis near the border to Minnesota.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying Wisconsin slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Wisconsin is:
- North: Michigan Slots
- East: Lake Michigan
- South: Illinois Slots
- West: Iowa Slots and Minnesota Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Wisconsin.
Our Wisconsin Slots Facebook Group
Gambling Slots In Bars Nyc
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Wisconsin? If so, join our Wisconsin slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Wisconsin. Join us!
Payout Returns in Wisconsin
Written into Wisconsin’s tribal-state gaming compacts are minimum and maximum theoretical payout limits. These limits apply over the expected lifetime of the game.
Each tribal-state compact has set minimum and maximum payout limits. However, there are two sets of limits, both of which apply over the expected lifetime of the game:
- Games-of-chance (slot machines): 80% and 100%
- Games-of-skill video games (poker, blackjack, etc.): 83% and 103%
For each machine, tribal casinos report to the state both its theoretical payout and actual return statistics. However, this valuable information is not available to the public.
An annual return statistic is publicly available for all tribal casinos combined in Wisconsin, although casino hold% comes from dividing Tribal Net Win by Handle Data. Player win% is from subtracting hold% from 100%.
In 2019, the most recent year available, the annual return statistic was 92.76%. This player win% is up from 2017’s 92.48% and 2018’s 92.61%.
Summary of Wisconsin Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020
Wisconsin slot machine casino gambling consists of 24 tribal casinos. Illegal gaming machines exist at many bars and taverns, but only five or more machines results in a criminal offense.
Tribal-state gaming compacts have established two sets of theoretical payout limits, including minimum and maximums. For games-of-chance such as slot machines, these limits are 80% and 100%. The 2019 return statistic was 92.76%.
Annual Progress in Wisconsin Slot Machine Casino Gambling
In the last year, there has been no significant changes to the slots gaming industry in Wisconsin.
Related Articles from Professor Slots
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: West Virginia Slot Machine Casino Gambling
- Next: Wyoming Slot Machine Casino Gambling
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
Introduction to Why Slot Machines Say Bar
Why do slot machines say bar on their reels? Well, to understand why this tradition came to be, we’ll have to delve into slot machine history. First of all, these gambling devices weren’t always called slot machines. Slot machines were originally referred to as a one-armed bandit, then later in Great Britain as a fruit machine.
A slot machine gambling device is activated by pulling a handle or pushing a button. This can only be done after coins, tokens, cash, or casino credits has been entered. Consequently, reels with symbols begin to spin. When done spinning, the symbols shown lined up along pay lines are used to determine the payout, if any.
Reel symbols are often traditional, including stars, bars, numbers, and various pictured fruits. Fruits can include cherries, plums, oranges, lemons, and watermelons. The number seven is also very popular. And, finally, then there are bar reel symbols.
Keep Reading … or Watch Instead!
Or … Listen Instead!
Subscribe to my Professor Slots podcast at Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music Amazon Audible Gaana Stitcher Pandora iHeart Radio Tune-In SoundCloud RadioPublic Deezer RSS and everywhere else you find your podcasts!
Bar Reel Symbols
Fruit reel symbols were first used in slot machine by the Industry Novelty Company in 1909. This was quickly followed the next year by Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, recently inherited by Herbert Stephen Mills. But, with a slight addition.
Mills added the photograph of a chewing gum pack along with the fruit reel symbols. Soon after, these photographs of a chewing gum pack were replaced with a stylized bar symbol.
Slot machines have a very rich history. Within gaming device circles of the time, it was well known that Charles Augustus Fey of San Francisco refused to sell or lease the design of his first coin-operated slot machine, the Liberty Bell, which he invented around 1887.
Gambling Slots In Bars Slot Machine
So, how did Mills get the design from Fey? There are two theories. First, that Fey cooperated with Mills to spread the use of slot machines. After all, Fey is known as the “Father of Slots” both for his invention of the coin-operated device as well as popularizing its use.
The second theory is Mills somehow “obtained” a Liberty Bell as a result of a San Francisco saloon robbery in 1905. Less than a year later, Mills produced a new version of the Liberty Bell called either the Mills Liberty Bell or Operator Bell.
During my review of the history of early slot machines, there are also suggestions the bar symbol may have another origin story. It is generally accepted that the bar symbol is a stylized image of a chewing gum pack, as well as a company logo.
According to some historical sources, however, the company having that logo may have been the Bell-Gum Fruit company.
A Bit More History
As mentioned, slot machines have a very rich history, especially in their early days. Besides Why Do Slot Machines Say Bar, there are a few other interesting historical items of interest.
In 1916, another historic slot machine innovation created by the Mills Novelty Company was the jackpot. When a specific combination of reel symbols resulted from a bet, the slot machine would empty its coin hopper of all coins as a prize.
The Mills Novelty would later go on to produce slot machines with wooden cabinets, rather than the original cast iron construction materials.
Photos of early slot machines are online at Cyprus Casino Consultant, Casino Observer, the International Arcade Museum, and elsewhere. I especially enjoy photos of antique slot machines in my copy of Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years by Marshall Fey, grandson of “the Father of Slot Machines” Charles Fey.
The Cyprus Casino Consultant website shows 4 slot machines on a waist-high counter top. They appear to have wood cabinets and are each perhaps 30 inches high by 18 inches wide. In metric, that’s about 76 centimeters by 46 centimeters.
Each slot machine is of the one-armed bandit variety, meaning they appear to are activated by first inserting a coin and then pulling a large lever on the right side of the machine. Each of these models appears to accept coins at the top, as well as dispense coins for winners at the bottom.
The Casino Observer website also shows 4 slot machines. Two of these machines are some of the first slot machines, from about 1890, while two others are more modern, ~1940s. The two older slot machines receive coins, but only the poker machine appears to not be able to dispense coins. This poker machine has typical card suits as reel symbols and a cast metal-type cabinet.
It appears to be missing its one-armed bandit lever, perhaps due to damage, or it never had a lever. One older slot machine with coin dispenser capability is clearly identified as a “Liberty Bell”. It rests on cast feet located on each corner. The reel symbols show three Liberty Bells, but its “pay table” shows card suits – not fruit or bars.
The International Arcade Museum website shows a single slot machine. It’s a very old slot machine showing the symbol of the Liberty Bell on its front next to three reels showing Liberty Bell, bar, and fruit reel symbols.
This is probably a “Liberty Bell” by Charles Fey, but must be a slightly later version due to it having obvious fruit and bar reel symbols. It also has a cast metal-type cabinet and the distinctive “feet” of a Liberty Bell. It also has a small tray for coins, suggesting it has automatic payouts.
Charles Fey manufactured about 100 Liberty Bell slot machines for distribution in and around San Francisco. However, there are few of them remaining in existence. The scarcity of Fey’s Liberty Bell is a direct result of a natural disaster occurring shortly after their manufacture: the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
Summary of Why Slot Machines Say Bar
Starting in 1907, Bell Fruit Gum slot machines were manufactured by Industry Novelty Co. They were followed by the Mills Novelty Company in 1910.
The reels on these slot machines included cherry, melon, orange, apple, and bar symbols with non-cash payouts in the form of fruit-flavored gum, allowing machine owners to avoid prosecution under the anti-gambling laws of that time.
The cherry and bar symbols became traditional to slot machines, and are still commonly used today. The bar symbol was a company logo, originally a photo of a chewing gum pack before being stylized as a bar.
Related Articles from Professor Slots
Other Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: How Slot Machines Work from a Player’s Perspective
- Next: Casino Safety or Five Fun Ways To Protect Yourself
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC