Illegal pokies seized

Victorian gaming inspectors have seized 42 illegal poker machines which they believe may have been destined for illicit gambling dens.

Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) inspectors raided two properties, including a storage facility, in Melbourne's northern suburbs on Tuesday night after a tip-off.

They also seized 49 restricted poker machine components in what is the biggest ever such swoop in Victoria.

A man in his 20s faces up to six years' jail if he is charged with being in possession of illegal gaming machines.

Some of the seized slot machines were up for sale, while others were being converted to be offered on the black market, VCGR executive commissioner Peter Cohen said.

He said the commission was still investigating to determine the intended buyer of the machines.

"It could be people running an illegal gambling business or a fundraiser for a sporting club," Mr Cohen told AAP.

"I can say pretty confidently I don't think the poker machine licence holders (including pubs and clubs) would be guilty of using them.

"It would be too much of a risk to the revenue stream they have already got and would cost them their licence.

"Our concern is protection for the players who don't know if the machines have been modified or rigged in an unfair manner in terms of what they pay out and how much you pay to play them."

The main motive for having illegal poker machines is avoiding the heavy regulation and taxes imposed on licence holders.

The taxes are about 33 per cent per machine, while pubs must also pay an 8.33 per cent `community support fund' to put back into communities affected by gambling.

The components seized include software that controls the machines' flashing lights and the mechanism that sets the payout - legally required to be a minimum of 87 per cent of money put in them.

"I don't think there is a huge market for illegal poker machines or their components," Mr Cohen said.

Illegal machines are seized all over the world but this is the first of its kind in Victoria with previous examples involving machines used privately or antique collector's items, he said.

"The big difference here is that these were to be used for commercial reasons," Mr Cohen said.

"Previously we only had people trying to sell or get rid of private poker machines that a grandfather had owned or something ... they might have been fined or prosecuted but did not go to jail."

Since poker machines were legalised in Victoria in the early 1990s, the industry has been controlled by licence holders the Tatts Group and Tabcorp.

The biggest manufacturer of pokie machines is Aristocrat Leisure.

The machines seized on Tuesday night were made by Aristocrat, other authorised manufacturers and some unauthorised ones.