History of Slots

Unlike many gambling games that can trace their history back literally thousands of years; the history of slots is extremely short in the grand scheme of things. We can safely pinpoint the exact year that the industry was blessed with the introduction of slot machines, making it a true ‘red, white and blue’ invention and probably the United States’ greatest contribution to the gambling world.

While the first slot machine was invented by Charles Fey in 1894, similar prototypes were already in use around 25 years before that. Although Fey was a Bavarian immigrant, his invention of the slot machine was made after he moved to the United States. You might be surprised to learn that the idea of the first slot machine was very similar to those we find in casinos today, right down to a bell that rang when a player won. The main difference was the fact that Fey’s model used cards instead of fruit. Possibly the most famous of Fey’s slot machines was the Liberty Bell – a three-reel, 10-symbol device that offered players 1:1000 chance of hitting the jackpot.

I would say that the next advancement in the history of slots was around the mid 20th Century with the invention of machines such as the Big Bertha, an 8-reel, 20 symbol slot machine that offered players a very poor 1:25-million chance of winning the jackpot.

Today, the slot industry has moved into the electronic age, with most casinos using slot machines powered by RNG (random number generators). Players also find their slot fun on the internet, thanks to an increasing number of popular casinos that offer you the chance to play slots irrespective of the time of day or your location in the world. Slots are one of the most popular games in the industry today and produce billions of dollars in revenue each year.

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