The History of Slot Machines
The humble slot machine has been synonymous with the casino for decades. Think of any big gambling destinations, and you’ll likely conjure up the images of poker tables, blackjack, and the falling reels of the slots. Ever since the very first unit was created in the form of the Liberty Bell in the 1890s, the game has had a vice-like grip on visitors to casinos and other gaming establishments.
It is a simple but novel form of gameplay that is timeless, and that has contributed to its longevity as it remains a popular staple of online casinos as well as the brick-and-mortar venues where it began its long journey. So, join us as we travel back in time to take a look at the storied history of the slot machine.
The Origin of Slot Machines
Who Invented The Slot Machine?
As mentioned, the genesis of the first slot machine was 1895’s Liberty Bell. It was developed in California by a German-born mechanic called Charles Fey, and it was built upon a predecessor to what we would recognise as a slot unit. It first appeared in Brooklyn in 1891. This new, much-more-recognisable machine got its name from the symbol that signalled the max payout if three were matched on the reels.
The Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell - that is, the original bell - was and still is a famous symbol, so it was always going to be the most important symbol. The others were hearts, diamonds, and spades - hinting to the slot machine’s origin as a play on poker - as well as a lucky horseshoe.
These Liberty Bell machines proved immensely popular in the late 19th and early 20th century. They simplified the five-drum design that debuted in Brooklyn as the three-reel slot machine we now know and love. They made their way into the pubs and tobacconists of America and would even make appearances in barbershops.
While that popularity would ultimately lead to California enacting a ban on them, the slot machine revolution was born. It was a runaway train that would prove to be unstoppable, even over a century later.
Land-Based Slot Machines
Those very early entries into slot gameplay were a big step forward, but the real start of the phenomenon would be moving away from bartop and countertop machines and towards the standalone units that would later be found on the casino floor. The first ever electromechanical unit was developed in the 1960s, and it ushered in a whole new world of slot machine gaming than could ever have been imagined before. The early machines required the assistance of an attendant who would pay out any winnings to the player, so they were usually limited to small venues where staff were regularly present. However, these new units and their side-mounted levers would use bottomless hoppers to automate the payout process, meaning more could be installed without the need for staff to oversee them.
That was just the start of what was to come for the slot machine in its rapid evolution into a behemoth of gaming. The introduction of electricity to what was previously a very bog standard machine, as well as the shift to larger units, allowed manufacturers to play with the themes and experiences of slot machines.
Rather than simply being a mechanical set of drums that cycled through the symbols, this new generation of machines could introduce lights, images on the shell of the unit, and even sounds and music.
While many would have thought these electronic machines would be the pinnacle and couldn’t get any better for slot enthusiasts, they were very wrong. The 1980s brought a computerised renaissance that would blow the game wide open. Using a screen rather than mechanical reels, these games were much easier for developers to customise and introduce themes that were previously impossible.
Some worried that this development would affect the integrity of the games, given that they weren’t sure they were truly random without the reels. However, fears were short-lived as the random number generators underpinned the software would require independent testing to ensure fairness.
Stepping Into the Modern Era of Slot Machines
The 80s are now the distant past, with 40 years between us and them, and that’s evident when it comes to how slot machines have changed since then. They might still be mostly computerised, sticking with what made them immensely popular, but they’ve built on top of that to stand out in a crowded casino.
You would be hard-pressed to find one of the old fruit-machine styles of slot games as the computerisation allowed for much more customisation. In their place came modern slot machines based around endless themes, from movies to music, sports to history, mythology to pop culture. As computers grew in capability, too, this allowed for greater graphics as well as crisp and clear sound effects. Then, the internet happened.
The internet has touched every aspect of modern life. It’s hard to put into words what it has done. In the 1990s, the first online casinos opened their virtual doors, and slot machines were a big part of those early offerings. The fact that they weren’t bandwidth-munching multiplayer games that required extremely high-quality internet meant they were an instant success in the online world.
From then on, online slots continued to grow into something almost unrecognisable from the earliest iterations of the first slot machines. They now include bonus gameplay that is more in line with modern games, progressive jackpots that continue to grow as players from around the world put money into the game, and graphics that wouldn’t look out of place on the most advanced devices. This helped open the game up to a whole new audience that would possibly have never experienced it before, making it a staple of online casino around the world.
Video slot machines have endless possibilities, and this can be seen in the revolutionary mechanics that have since been released, including MEGAWAYS, cascading reels, cluster pays and many more.