What if they claimed and displayed 95% payout, but actually only paid out 92%? Don't you think that would be more profitable? Because that is basically what they're claiming is happening here. Do you think enough people will keep track of their winnings for long enough to catch the discrepancy?
That's hard to say. In the case in the article, the machine is obviously mis-leading players by suggesting a less than optimal strategy. At the same time, if the manufacturer of the machine wanted to lower the payout without indicating anything to the player, they could simply adjust the probabilities of the cards as they are dealt (I assume that is how most video poker machines work anyway). I don't believe that individual players will have any idea whether or not they are receiving the advertised payout, they can only respond the the outcome of the game. Gambling companies do often advertise high payouts but I suspect this is only attracts new players while the real odds affect how long the players continue to play.
if the manufacturer of the machine wanted to lower the payout without indicating anything to the player, they could simply adjust the probabilities of the cards as they are dealt
Having a different payout than the advertised one is definitely illegal in the US. What Oregon seems to have done is to find a neat loophole to get around that law.
(I assume that is how most video poker machines work anyway)
At least based on how I understand the law, you cannot tinker with the randomness of how the cards are dealt. The only thing you can use to alter payout percentages is alter the actual payout amounts for different events.
