The Interesting History and Evolution of Online Slots

Online slots are the most popular form of gambling at any online casino around the world right now.

Thanks to the fun themes, exciting and dazzling bonus features, and the chance to win huge prizes on progressive jackpot slots, there's very little not to love.

But where did online slots find their start? Every hero has a humble backstory and online slots are no different.

Take a step back in time and journey with these moneymakers to the present day.

 The Humble Beginnings of Online Slots

At the very end of the 19th Century, slot machines were born, but when looking back at the technology behind these games, we know that humble start by a different name.

Believed to be created in 1891, the first slot machine was, in fact, more like a video poker machine than a slot at all. It also included the lever which was pulled to start the game and stayed a popular addition for many years to come!

Designed with 5 drums that allowed a total of 50 playing cards to appear on the screen, these metal beauties cost only a nickel to play. The aim of the game was to line up poker hands in order to win. Sounds very familiar, doesn't it?

 Online Slots: Technology on a Timeline

Now that the technology for slot machines was created, it was time for it to be perfected.

✓ 1895 - While not a concise date, it's believed that Charles Augustus Fey modified the poker machine already available to create the first true slot machine. He did so by replacing the drums with reels and simplified the game to pay out when 3 of the same symbols he added were revealed. 

Symbols included hearts, diamonds, spades, horseshoes, and the Liberty Bell. As the bell was the highest paying symbol, the first true slot machine was named Liberty Bell in its honour.

✓ 1902 - Slot machines were officially banned in 1902, but that simply meant finding new ways to enjoy the game. Manufacturer Herbert Mills stripped the machine of its money-paying abilities and instead offered sweets and chewing gum as prizes. It was then that the well-known BAR symbol was also added.

✓ 1964 - Technology was on the rise and no longer where slot machines simple as the first electromechanical slot was born thanks to Bally. Named the 'Money Honey', this machine could pay out up to 500 coins thanks to its bottomless hopper!

✓ 1976 - The first video slot is born! Thanks to a Las Vegas company called Fortune Coin and a 19-inch TV screen as the display, the first true video slot was available in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.

✓ 1996 - One of the most exciting and memorable milestones for many online gamblers was the release of the first ever online slot. Reel 'Em by WMS was bright, simple, and fun, even featuring a completely new screen that appeared for the bonus game!

✓ Modern Online Slots - Now online slots are designed and released within a matter of months. They feature popular films, irregular reel shapes, bonus features that will blow your hair back and so much more!

Of course, the next step in the evolution of the online slot is already happening. Thanks to the rise of technology such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, online slots are becoming hands-on once more, even if those hands are now more virtual than physical.

With an exciting past such as this one, we can't to see what the future holds for the technology of online slots and how much more rewarding they can truly become.