Slots and pokies are some of the oldest gambling games in today’s world. They saw their beginnings in the beginning of the 20th century, and have attracted a vast audience since. Here is an overview of slot machine history and how they have developed over the years.
The first ever version 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 pay out; 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 game 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 very quickly, 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 a long time before slots became popular again in casinos. It had been during the 1950s that slots started to become popular all over the world. In 1953, Australian gaming company Aristocrat took note of the brand new trend and made a decision to manufacture its own make of electronic gaming machines called pokies. Judi Online Slot88 was called the ‘Clubman’.
Although it would be quite some time before we’d see online slots, casinos in Las Vegas started making electronic slot machines, moving away from the typical, mechanical slot games that had become popular through the years. These machines were better than mechanical slots and made it more difficult for folks to cheat casinos. During this time, electronic slots also saw the invention of the random number generator which made playing slots even more unpredictable.
On the next few decades, slots would remain the same. It wouldn’t be before turn of the Century that people begin seeing the advent of online slots. The initial 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 ten years, slots have become many of the most popular games at online casinos, as well as making up over 80% of land-based casino revenue. In the internet, players can find hundreds of different online slots games, many of which feature fun and inventive themes. Players can also find a wide range of branded and themed slots games, featuring innovative gaming technology.