Like a lot of other casino classics, Slots have come a long way over the years. Whether you play on a physical machine or online, it’s very different under the hood to the one-armed bandits of old.
Slots on the whole have capitalised on advancing technology to evolve and grow into one of the most popular offerings at casinos around the world today.
From different themes to fresh mechanics, there are plenty of ways that the game has been freshened up from its initial roots.
No matter the jackpot, Slots have remained a popular game ever since their first introduction. So, let’s take a look back at how they’ve evolved over time.
The origins of Slots
Unlike some of the older classic games, the origins of the slot-machine are actually pretty well documented. After all, this isn’t the sort of game that you can play with just some dice or a pack of cards!
A New York company called Sittman and Pitt created the precursor to the modern slot machine in 1891. It was based on Poker, with three spinning drums holding 50 card faces making up the rest of a playing hand.
The sheer novelty of the spinning mechanism – and its interactivity – saw the machine become an instant hit with bar regulars. At this point the machine couldn’t do anything beyond spinning the drums and patrons had to go to the bar to collect their reward.
The Liberty Bell
A less complicated and more recognisable slot machine came about before the turn of the century. Charles August Fey is usually credited as the father of the modern one-armed bandit, having simplified the design and introduced automation.
Fey’s Liberty Bell switched out the Poker cards in favour of five different symbols – diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes and bells. This made for a far smaller number of winning combinations and made it possible for the machine to determine pay outs.
It was this machine that took the gaming world by storm, shipping across the USA and becoming the blueprint for future Slots.
Slots go online
Advances in technology over the following century saw the one-armed bandits transform from humble roots into something more dynamic. The incorporation of video made it easier to add unique themes to machines, adding an entirely new flavour to the classic reel spins.
The next big step forward for Slots came with the advent of the Internet in the 1990s. Other games were a little quicker to make the transition to digital, with players sceptical of whether the Slots experience could make the jump.
But, with new evolutions in presentation and twists on the standard Slots gameplay, it wasn’t long before the online game began to take off too. The rise of mobile gaming also fuelled development since players could play from anywhere with a stable connection.
—
It’s been a long road from the first mechanical slot machine to the online games of today. Who knows what other evolutions the future has in store for the game of Slots?
