You could build gambling machines that didn't have the whistles, bells and flashing lights but then they wouldn't be as effective at fleecing punters...
NSW pubs used to have card machines - you'd play poker against the machine and then could bet on black or red with your winnings to double up. It was boring and they didn't garner revenue like pokies. if anything they lost revenue cos the secondary, black or red bets followed one of about three patterns (ie r, b, r b, b, r or whatever) and most people had worked out those patterns to the point where if you won a game you could follow the pattern till you had enough money for a couple of beers.
You could finish work put two bucks thru the machine and you'd end up with a couple of schooners and the money to play a game of pool on the way home.
If you really wanted you could probably spend a few hours on an old cardie machine and make fifty or a hundred bucks by following the pattern till you'd won five bucks off each bet. You'd probably spend as much time as many people do on pokies but without the flashing lights, noises and general over stimulation. The tech would be advanced enough now that there wouldn't be that pre-programmed pattern you could exploit tho.
Yeah, I'd be happy to see more actual POKER machines or games of some skill as opposed to the trance-inducing spin and "win" shit.
It would require government to do some research and be ahead of the industry in terms of what they're doing however, which never happens in any field - the businesses have the profit motive and so are always ahead.