The history of slot machines goes back just over 100 years. Despite their apparent simplicity, the first machines were complex mechanical devices that required a lot from the developers. Let’s take a look at where it all began.
1891 – First poker machine from Sittman and Pitt
The history of the ‘one-armed bandits’ dates back to the 19th century. In 1891, Sittman and Pitt developed the first slot machine in New York City. Prior to that, there were only slot machines that spun a roulette wheel and the player could only bet on red or black. However, this new slot machine consisted of 5 reels with 10 card symbols on each.
After a spin, the winnings depended on which combination of cards or poker hand was received. Winnings were paid out at the bar in the form of cigarettes or drinks. There were no two cards from the usual 52-card deck that halved the chances of a royal flush:
- ten of spades;
- Jack of hearts.
1897-1895 – First slot machine
Charles August Fey is often credited with inventing the first slot machine. Fey was working on automatic payout of winnings when he developed his Liberty Bell slot machine, which was not technically possible with a poker machine because of the very large number of different winning combinations.
He then reduced the structure of his slot to three reels with only the symbols of the card suits
- spades;
- hearts;
- diamonds;
- horseshoes;
- Liberty Bell.
The three Liberty Bells gave the highest possible automatic payout. The machine was a huge success and as Fay didn’t apply for a patent, the principle became common knowledge and was quickly adopted by other slot machine manufacturers.
1996 – First multi-screen video slot
The next milestone in history was the first video slot, Fortune Coin, which appeared in 1976. The next step was taken in 1996 by WMS Industries Inc. with the first video slot that could switch to a second screen to trigger a bonus game completely different from the regular game.
Extra winnings could be paid out this way. Slots became increasingly popular in casinos. They accounted for up to 70% of turnover, and about 70% of the free space.
Triumph of online slots
In the mid-1990s, the Internet also penetrated into private homes, and quickly the first online casinos appeared, among them the famous casino Vulkan. At first the games offered consisted of classic casino games such as roulette or blackjack, but soon the first online slot also appeared.
In contrast, online slots have quickly overtaken table games and are today the most popular casino pastime.
Initially, the style of slots was based on the machines in land-based casinos and used the same fruity symbols. But the freedom of programming quickly spawned new games with interesting themes or unusual designs.
Today, there are games with more than 5 reels, some of which also feature a variety of symbols and offer lucrative bonus rounds and special wilds. The number of manufacturers is also growing.
