Made several attempts to enter the American market, but was frustrated at every turn by regulatory hurdles. However, in the late 1990s, Aristocrat started to make inroads, at first in Indian country and later into commercial casino jurisdictions. By that time, Aristocrat, then Ainsworth Gaming, were bringing their A-games — multi-line, multi-coin games that were enormously popular wherever they were put. Those games changed the slot industry. IGT and the other American manufacturers are still struggling to catch up.

It is difficult to say what Len Ainsworth’s role was in game development. He certainly was not one of the game designers; he probably did not even hire them. Len’s genius is in management and corporate structure. Twice, he built companies that continually developed new and better games, “better mouse traps,” as he called them. The success of his companies was a matter of pride in Australia and Ainsworth and his family were very generous, supporting hospitals, universities, medical research, and other charities.

Ainsworth’s acceptance has undergone some changes lately. The success of pokies – the slot machines – has attracted the attention of the media, anti-gambling forces, and lawmakers. A serious movement is afoot to impose strict limitations on pokies and pokie players. There are even calls for the hospitals and universities to denounce slot machines and Ainsworth, even to the extent of take his name off their buildings.

At 100 years old, Len Ainsworth deserves to be honored for his work and his generosity and not demonized. Ainsworth did what any good businessperson does: he produced the best product he could for his market. At that there were none better, not just in Australia, but in the world.