Slot Machine History

Slot machines, slots, fruit machines, fruities, one-armed bandits - over the years these entertainment machines have collected quite the array of names for themselves. Since our online slots are some of the most-played games played across our entire online casino platform, we figured we might as well present you with a thorough look at the history of slot machines, from the first poker machines in the US and the Liberty Bell game by Charles Fey, to Money Honey by Bally and onto modern online slots and video slots like Book of Ra, Reel King or Lucky Lady's Charm.

Slot Machine - Random Fun by Definition

Where exactly does the noun slot machine come from? Simple. The original gaming machines found in casinos and arcades had exactly two slots. One for coins to be put in in order to play, the other for your winnings to come out! The name fruit machine stems from the fruit symbols like grapes, cherries and lemons which were used once winnings had to be given out as sweets and bubble gum later on. Playing a slot was - by definition - playing for sweets. Throw in your coin, pull the lever and wait for what the slot will reward you with.

Slot Machines and Their Origin

The very first precursors of modern slots were the poker machines gentlemen Sittman and Pitt developed in New York in 1891. These machines were solid boxes with a glass display, using 5 different drums - tin containers - for 50 playing cards to be stored in them. Cards would be displayed and their combinations - inspired by winning poker hands - would award players with prizes. These machines were extremely popular extremely quickly, spreading across the city like wildfire, despite not offering direct payouts. Winning hands would be rewarded with free drinks or cigars by the owner of the shop. Even then the notion of a house edge were quickly established. Some owners would open the slot machines and remove single cards like a ten of diamonds or a jack of spades or a queen of hearts and reduce the chance of certain winning hands to appear significantly. Which didn't hurt the populartiy of the machine at all it seemed.

Due to technical limitations of the time and the sheer number of possible winning combinations it was impossible to inlcude mechanisms for automatic payouts in these poker machines. Enter Charles Fey from San Francisco, who proved instrumental in the development of "automatic" slot machines and gambling machines in general. His machine used reels with rows of 5 symbols each to derive winning combinations. The date of his machine's initial release is lost in the blaze of attention that followed, but historians estimate sometime between 1891 and 1895 for his invention to have revolutionised slots. His first slot machine used diamonds, spades and hearts of course, but also horseshoes (for good luck obviously) and the liberty bell - giving this slot machine its name!

It was Fey's Liberty Bell that caused an entire industry to take root in the state of California, one that would change the face of gaming forever. While the biggest possible payout for his machines was set at 50 cent, the were soon banned statewide, with Fey still unable to cope with the demand from other states. Other manufactorers soon released machines of their own, marketing them as "bell machines" and profiting off of a boom that would prove seemingly unrelenting for the rest of the century. By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, slots were commonplace in cigar stores, barber shops, pubs and saloons, brothels and bowling alleys.

Slots and their Win Symbols

In the same decade another long-lasting win symbol was introduced to the gambling public. The BAR-symbol was coined by Herbert Mills of Operator Bell machines. At this point cash prizes had been forbidden in most states, which proved to be only a short-timed hinderance to the industry. This marks the beginning of fruit machines, substituting cash prizes for chewing gum and other sweets. This is also where we circle back to Mills and his Operator Bell, using carefully painted fruit symbols to advertise the many flavours of sweets people could play at his machine. Together with his BAR-symbol, these icons would be standard imagery for decades worth of slot machines for the rest of the century! Additionally, from this point onwards slot machines would be strictly mechanical endeveaours until the advent of microelectronics in the 1960s. Due to them requiring a lever on the side of the machine being used to start off a round, the term "one-armed bandit" soon became common vernacular.

In 1963 another milestone in gambling would be achieved. Developers Bally released the first fully electromechanical slot machine named Money Honey. While the slot still used the common lever to start rounds, the reels were actuated entirely electronically. It was also the first slot machine with a so-called bottomless hopper, resulting in automatic payouts of up to 500 coins each time. Another spike in popularity was the result, causing a the inevitable arrival of electronic games in every aspect of leisure activities.

1976 - The Advent of Video Slots

It was again in California where a company constructed their first video slot in a full-fledged cabinet. Using a customized Sony Trinitron colour TV set and PCBs for the slot machine mechanics, the prototype was visually impressive and horrifically effective. After it's approval for use in Las Vegas it caused seeming mass emigrations from casinos that had not upgraded their machines to casinos on the strip which were quicker to adapt. The success of their machines caused developers Fortune Coin Co. to be be bought by another company in 1978 - a company called International Gaming Technology - or IGT - to this day a veteran developer for some of the most played online slots on our platform!

What had started as mechanical attractions played for a free drinks or chewing gum or to simply pass the time, had been turned into entertainment people would undertake hour long trips for. It had caused the rise of entire cities and shaped legislation  in several ways throughout the 20th century. And slots didn't stop there!

1996 Onwards - Bonus Modes and Features

The years moved on and video slots turned colourful and extravagant without changing their formula. This changed once again in 1996, when developers WMS released the seminal "Reel'Em In" slot machine. This was the first video slot featuring a bonus round on a separate game screen - a feature unimaginable at the time. The 90s also marked the time where slots turned from special attractions to the mainstay of land-based casinos, taking up more than 70 % of most American casinos' floor space, while also being responsible for close to 70 % of their income on average.

1996, fittingly, was also the year the first online casino ever opened. InterCasino offered 18 (!) casino games at the time, allowing people from all over the world to play to their heart's content around the clock. This development had been in the making for a few years already, after countries Antigua and Barbuda had passed laws to allow for online gambing offerings served to foreigners. Once the Kahnawake Gaming Commission followed with similar legislation in 1996, the dam had seemingly broken.

Online gambling is an ever growing business sector with robust growth rates spanning decades. Despite landmark rulings like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the US, online gambling proved resilient time and time again. It is this growth and ever improving internet tech that guarantees constant innovation in casino gaming in general and online slots in particular.

From Charles Fey and his Liberty Bell to cabinets sporting colour TVs and full fledged electronical interfaces, the slot machine has changed and adapted time and time again. Just like our ever-growing array of slots, fully playable in your browser no matter what device you are on!

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who did invent slot machines?

The first slot machine in the modern sense was invented by Charles Fey at the end of the 19th century in San Francisco.

• Where does the BAR symbol come from on slot machines?

BAR was a company logo promoting bubble gum, a possible prize for winning at the slots. Back then gum and sweets were prizes substituting for cash payouts.

• Is there a trick to win at video slot machines?

Video slots are very strictly controlled and are games of chance. Supposedly, the only real trick is to pick a game with confirmed high return-to-player (RTP) rates.