Slots and pokies are some of the oldest gambling games in today’s world. They saw their beginnings at the start of the 20th century, and have attracted a vast audience ever since. Here is a synopsis of slot machine history and how they have developed over the years.
ml138 of the slot machine was seen in 1891. Pittman and Sachs created a machine with five drums, each showing poker hand symbols. When players would win at these games, the machine would not spend; rather, the bar housing them would provide players with drinks.
It might be four more years before Charles Fey would create the version of the slot machine with which we are most acquainted today. The device provided players with cash payouts when it revealed matching symbols. The popularity of the games caught on rapidly, until anti-gambling groups enacted a ban on slot machines in the early 20th century.
The ban only lasted a few years, and it wasn’t long before slots became popular again in casinos. It was during the 1950s that slot machines started to become popular all over the world. In 1953, Australian gaming company Aristocrat took note of the new trend and decided to manufacture its own make of electronic gaming machines called pokies. The business’s first machine was called the ‘Clubman’.
Although it would be quite a while before we would see online slots, casinos in NEVADA started making electronic slot machines, moving away from the normal, mechanical slot games that had become popular over the years. These machines were more secure than mechanical slots and managed to get more difficult for individuals to cheat casinos. During this time, electronic slots also saw the invention of the random number generator which made playing slots a lot more unpredictable.
Over the next few decades, slots would remain the same. It wouldn’t be before turn of the Century that we begin seeing the advent of online slots. The first online slots games were seen around 2001, once the first internet casinos went live. Companies like Microgaming got on the floor floor, creating some of the first online slot machines open to the public.
For the past a decade, slots have become probably the most popular games at online casinos, along with making up over 80% of land-based casino revenue. In the online world, players can find a huge selection of different online slots games, a lot of which feature fun and inventive themes. Players are also able to find a wide range of branded and themed slots games, featuring innovative gaming technology.