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 ever 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 game 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 would 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 these 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 couple of years, and it wasn’t a long time before slots became popular again in casinos. It was during the 1950s that slots started to become popular all over the world. In 1953, Australian gaming company Aristocrat took note of the new trend and made a decision to manufacture its own brand of electronic gaming machines called pokies. The business’s first machine was called the ‘Clubman’.
Although it would be quite some time before we’d see online slots, casinos in Las Vegas started making electronic slots, moving away from the typical, mechanical slot games that had recognition over time. These machines were better than mechanical slots and made it 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 exactly the same. It wouldn’t be until the turn of the Century that we begin seeing the advent of online slots. pragmatic play demo were seen around 2001, once the first internet casinos went live. Companies like Microgaming got on the ground floor, creating some of the first online slot machines available to the public.
For the past ten years, slots have become one of the most popular games at online casinos, as well as creating over 80% of land-based casino revenue. In the online world, players can find a huge selection of different online slots games, many of which feature fun and inventive themes. Players can also find a wide variety of branded and themed slots games, featuring innovative gaming technology.