Gambling in traditional and virtual casinos is always associated with slot machines, as this game is the most popular one for today. Slots attract thousands of gamblers every day bringing more than 70% of the entire profit of gambling sites. But certainly the modern variant of this game is greatly different from the one that was invented in the end of 19th century. And we suppose that it will be interesting for all people to know the history of online casino slots invention.
The history began back to 1895 and is certainly connected with the name of Charles Fey. He was a car mechanic from San Francisco, who managed to invent the first slot machine in the world. He constructed a very heavy device of a cast iron in his basement. And it was called the Liberty Bell. In fact it has only three reels with a few symbols on each one and a lever to start playing. Firstly it had horseshoes, cards and bells as symbols, and the greatest prize was only 50 cents.
Several years later Charles Fey managed to introduce a new slot with fruit symbols. And since that time slot are often called fruit machines. Another name is “one-armed bandit”, and it also originates from that time. In fact, the lever resembled the arm and the slots often robbed people out of money. These names are used even today, though modern devices are far from looking like Liberty Bell.
Slot machines enjoyed a huge popularity and happened thanks to Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. In fact, its owner decided to place several machines there. Women quickly grasped the idea, and stick to playing them, while their aristocratic husbands were playing card games and smoking cigars. Slots started spreading around the USA, but then the government prohibited them. These were the black days for Fey and for everyone, who adored spinning the reels. As a result, many establishments changed money wins for chewing gums, and it was a great disappointment. It was a kind of a mask for slot machines, what allowed people not to forget about this great invention. However, a few years later the situation significantly changed to the favor of slot machine players, and it was a new era of gambling.
1960s brought significant changes for slot machines, and this period is associated with the name of Bob Dylan. This man was the first one who introduced electronic slots, which were much more secure and harder to cheat. Certainly, they were far from being perfect, but it was a very important step in the history of this game. Different slot machine types were invented, but it was only beginning.
In fact the revolution was done in the seventies, thanks to the rapid development of technologies. During this period companies started using microchips and special programs, which opened a lot of new incredible opportunities. It was the time of video slots invention. The work of video slots was based on Random Number Generator, which determined the combinations at the screen. The same technologies are used today, and you may be familiar with them. This invention opened a new world for software developers, who offered a bit later thousands of slot machine types, such as classic and progressive, with bonus rounds and without them and so on. A lever was replaced by a button.
And the last step for today is the introduction of online casino slots. Undoubtedly it happened right after the invention of the first gambling site in mid-1990s. Thanks to it we can enjoy playing absolutely different slots with all the conveniences of staying at home. What step will be the next? Let’s wait and see…