Advances in Slots Technology

Early slot machines featured 3 reels, a few fruit symbols and payouts of pieces of gum or candy. The machines have advanced over the years, giving online gambling for real money slots enthusiasts a wide range of online casino elements, themes, bonus games and mobile playing options. What can today’s slots players expect today? 

History

The first poker machine was designed by the arcade machine designing firm of Sittman and Pitt which built a poker machine with 5 drums. It cost a nickel to play the machine which was activated with a lever. Payouts were made when a player lined up a poker hand on the reels with any 5 of the 50 cards – the machine increased the house edge by removing 2 cards from the deck (the jack of hearts and the 10 of spades). There was no direct payout mechanism so wins were paid out at the candy counter or, in a salon, at the bar, via pieces of gum or candy or a drink.

In 1894 Charles Fey built the first slot machine. It allowed allow automatic payouts by replacing the existing 5 drums with 3 reels to make it easier for the machine to read a win. Fey replaced the 50 playing cards with just 5 symbols – diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes and a liberty bell. Three bell symbols signaled the highest payout – giving the machine its name “Liberty Bell.” 

Slot machines were officially banned in most states in the early 20th century but the Liberty Bell continued to be manufactured and pieces of candy or fruit were given out as prizes – the type of fruit given corresponded with the fruit symbols that lined up for the win. Now, many people started to call the machines “fruit machines.”

Through the first part of the 20th centuries the slot machines remained purely mechanical. Gamers would pull down a lever to set the reels in motion. A string inside the machine would stretch and that’s what stopped the reels’ motion. Such a manual approach gave players the feeling that they were controlling the game and the outcome. “Techniques” were suggested – pull the lever slowly, pull it quickly, let it pop at the end, etc. Soon people began to refer to the slot machines as “one armed bandits.”

Bally released the first fully electromechanical slot machine in 1964. It was called the “Money Honey” and the reels were entirely electrical. Pulling a lever started the game which gave old slots enthusiasts a measure of familiarity with the new-fangled machine.

The Money Honey was the first slot machine with a bottomless hopper. This device enabled the machine to deliver automatic payouts of up to 500 coins. The machine  appealed to gamers’ and casino operators alike and led to the increasing dominance of electromechanical slots. Shortly thereafter the lever was removed from the newer slots.

Video slots, which is the favored type of slot machines today, were introduced in 1976 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. The Nevada State Gaming Commission approved the machine and it quickly became the dominant type of slot at Vegas casinos. By 1996 the video slots had added a second screen so that the games could feature bonus rounds. When casinos saw how popular these slots had become they began to devote more floor space to the slots area. Today, an average casino devotes 70% of the available floor space to the slots.

New Technology

Nowadays it’s hard to find mechanical slot machines at casinos or at other gaming venues. Most gambling sites use devices run by micro-processors which allow operators to calculate average bet sizes, track odds, record time played to determine favored games and access other types of metrics so that they can better evaluate their risk exposure. 

With the race for superiority between all different companies along with the rise of the cloud computing technology,  the casino industry found itself on good footing for its slots offerings. Gambling developers have developed applications that are able to run on the majority of the available mobile devices so players can gamble from almost any location in the world. All that’s needed is an Internet connection. 

Two new developments that are certain to further revolutionize the slots industry are the augmented reality environment and skill-based slots.

Augmented reality environment refers to software applications that integrate digital visual content (and sometimes other types including audio) into the player’s real-world environment. Some game designers feel that this type of technology is especially suited to slot machines because it enhances slots as games of fantasy and imagination. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Skill based slot machines take slots to a new level, providing slots aficionados with games that combine the luck of the spin with needed skill that allows players to better control the successes of their games.

Casino observers say that slots fans can expect to see more of both of these types of slots options in the future as the demand grows and designers incorporate them into the new games.

Online and Mobile

1994 marked the year that developers started to explore the potential of an online casino. Their vision was that of a gaming venue that would reach millions of gamers worldwide so that players could be able to play from the comfort of their own homes and enjoy the amenities of casino entertainment at any time.

The first online casino was a success and since then, dozens of additional online casinos have opened. In the same way that every land-based casino had its own flair and personality, every online casino offered its own brand of casino entertainment. As the years have gone by, those options have expanded – some amenities, such as casino bonuses and mobile access are available at almost all online casinos while other conveniences including multiple game variations and live dealer platforms, are featured at select casino sites. 

Today’s Slots

1994 marked the year that developers started to explore the potential of an online casino. Their vision was that of a gaming venue that would reach millions of gamers worldwide so that players could be able to play from the comfort of their own homes and enjoy the amenities of casino entertainment at any time.

The first online casino was a success and since then, dozens of additional online casinos have opened. In the same way that every land-based casino had its own flair and personality, every online casino offered its own brand of casino entertainment. As the years have gone by, those options have expanded – some amenities, such as casino bonuses and mobile access are available at almost all online casinos while other conveniences such as multiple game variations and live dealer platforms, are featured at select casino sites.

Similarly, slot machines vary from one casino to the next. All casinos, both land-based and online, have slot machine options but some game developers focus on the advances in slots technology more than others. In addition to the bonus games, players today can find slots that offer numerous “extras” that enhance the opportunity to win prizes – multipliers, expanded wilds, Ways to Win lines, wild reels, striking wilds, rolling reels, exploding symbols, free spins, respins and more.  

It’s never been easier or more rewarding to play slots than today. Slots players are eagerly looking forward to seeing what the future might hold.