Anywhere you go in the 21st Century it will be hard to stay away from the vast and all encompassing world of online slots, such is their outrageous level of popularity. It’s true – these games are played all over the world by people across each continent, and they are showing no signs of stopping any time soon, far from it! In fact, due to the emergence of online slots there are now more gamblers than ever before, many of them attracted solely to the wonderful world of video slots. And anyway, when you consider how good these games at Wizardslots.com have become there really is no surprise that they have reached quite the level that they have.
Many economic analysts have been inspired to claim that the online slots industry is in fact the fastest growing industry in the world at the moment, a statement that doesn’t even sound that outlandish when you really think about it. In just less than two decades the market has swelled to an unbelievable size, attracting more players than all of the other gambling industries put together. But is it really the fastest growing industry? Let’s take a look at the history of its mercurial rise to see if we can adequately answer this question.
Brief History Of Slots
One thing we have to keep in mind here is that, although online slots are a relatively recent phenomena, they simply would not exist without their older brother – classic slot machines. These have been around for more than a century now, having been created during the late 1800s and refined by a man named Charles Fey. Back then slots were incredibly simple, with most of them not even having the capacity to pay out real cash, it didn’t take long for this to change however…
By the 1960s slot machines had become immensely popular, and as such they were subject to more and more technological advancements. Games got more complex, with more bonus rounds and chances to win big, something that only served to increase the number of people gambling away on the reels. By the late 1980s video slots were commonplace too, and the industry was perfectly poised to make the jump online.
Rise Of The Internet
Obviously, as soon as the first video slots were made it became apparent that online slots would be a thing in the not too distant future. Back in the late 1980s the Internet was only just finding its feet as a commercial entity, but this did not stop budding developers from setting the framework for the online casino market.
As soon as the Internet became a viable alternative to physical slot machine halls many computer programmers jumped on the band-wagon, knowing that any potential breakthroughs would almost certainly end up being highly lucrative as time went on.
The First Online Slots
And so, in the mid to late 1990s the Internet finally became commercialised enough to allow for slot developers to make the giant leap online, something that has proceeded to reinvigorate the gambling industry, morphing it into something that would have gone beyond Charles Fey’s wildest dreams. There is some debate about exactly what the first online slot to appear was, but the general consensus is that Eyecon’s Temple Of Isis was the first to be properly played on mass.
Whilst these first examples were still met by critical acclaim, it was clear that there was still a lot of work to be done before they would properly blow up. A lot of this was down to the inherent limitations that still existed on the actual Internet platform, as software coders were unable to operate with the freedom that they do now. As time drew on, however, the online slot industry was able to progress further and further, quickly churning out a stream of top quality titles.
Online Slot Regulations & The Gambling Act 2005
By the mid 2000s it was clear that online slot developers really were onto something, especially considering the rapid growth of the market. It wasn’t all smiles though, because online casinos were still struggling to attract a huge number of gamblers, purely because not enough people didn’t even know they existed.
This all changed after things like The Gambling Act 2005 were passed in the UK, opening up the industry to advertising platforms left right and centre. Suddenly online casinos and slot developers could properly advertise their products, and unsurprisingly these saw a massive influx of new gamblers join the cause. It is this fact that sent the industry into a period of exponential growth, and it was here that the online slot market started to look like one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
Technological Progress
With more money pouring in, and more competition over players it was now the developers’ time to up the ante, and oh boy did they oblige. In the decade after The Gambling Act 2005 online slots were subject to an incredible amount of progress, becoming bigger and better with every month that passed.
Things that we see as commonplace today, such as bonus games and multiple pay-lines, have their roots in this period of progress, another thing that contributed to the insanely rapid growth of the online slot industry.
Mobile Gaming
Knock, knock. What’s that? It’s mobile gaming of course, the most beneficial thing to happen to the online slot industry since The Gambling Act 2005. Breakthroughs in things such as HTML5 technology meant that, for the first time, online slot developers could create their games specifically with mobiles in mind. Funnily enough this also coincided with the rise of the smartphone, and suddenly everybody wanted to spin those reels on their phones.
Can you blame them? Online slot gambling is ten times more practical off of a smartphone, mainly because you can do it anywhere you find yourself, not just at your desk. So, is the online slot industry the fastest growing market in the world? When you factor in the affect of mobile gaming that may just be the case.
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