Slot Machines in Ohio Gas Stations? 

There is some controversy surrounding the slot machines that have started popping up around Ohio in their gas stations. Residents are wondering why they are there when slot machines are not legal in the state outside of the registered casinos. 

But the New Jersey company that is manufacturing the slot machines says that they are perfectly legal because they are a skill based game. Slot machines are computers that use chips to decide the winners. Through the use of a Random Number Generator, or RNG, the winner is determined when the coin goes in at the exact right amount of time. The player has no control over whether or not they win at a slot machine, which is why it is considered gambling. 

However, these games, although they look and sound like slot machines, are skill based. The player must manually stop the three spinning reels on the machine in order to win. They say that as someone has the ability to get good at the game – and be able to control whether or not they will win – this is what separates it from a traditional slot machine. 

Also, in a traditional slot machine winners get cash, whereas with these games they won’t. They can redeem winnings for prizes – which some argue is basically the same thing. They are popping up in gas stations in the Akron-Canton area of Ohio and they are testing them to se how they fare. If they turn out to be popular, the slot machines might end up spreading further across the state.