The history of slots is full of milestones, and most of the major developments have been recent in historical terms. Even gambling bans throughout their history have not managed to affect their popularity. The beginning of the slots journey can be traced back to 1895 when a mechanic named Charles Fey invented the first slot machine. This intricate device was called the Mills Liberty Bell, as this was one of the symbols included on the reels and the highest paying of them all. In fact, three bells would pay early slot punters 10 nickels if they landed in a row on the reels. Other symbols included horseshoes, diamonds, spades and hearts. This gaming device was a huge success with the public and other inventors took on the baton to invent other slot machines. In 1907 the manufacturer Hebert Mills introduced many variations of the bell themed slot. By 1908 these were installed in cigar stores, saloons, bowling alleys, barber’s shops and brothels - visit Toppspilleautomater.
Gambling Bans
When gambling was eventually banned in the 1900s, slots were outlawed but still managed to survive by evolving into machines that gave out non-cash prizes such as sweets. During the gambling ban, slot machine symbols took on a more family friendly image and fruit symbols began to fill the reels. These machines gave birth to the fruit machine and vending machine that are still in existence to this day in some shape or form.
The Modern Era
The next big leap in technology that proved a major milestone in the development of the modern slot took place in 1963, when the first electrical slot named Money Honey was unveiled. In 1976 slots moved away from their mechanical predecessors and the first crude version of the video slot hit casinos. Customers of the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel were the first to try out this revolutionary slot. After a few tweaks it was eventually approved by the Nevada State Gaming Commission and made freely available to the public.
The Digital Age
The biggest and most groundbreaking development in the history of slots took place in 1996 and this coincided with the first ever-online casino. The introduction of digital technology and the invention of the internet saw the gambling industry embrace this new era and many gambling games were available to the masses on online platforms. The first online casino offered traditional table games like Roulette and its success led to a flood of new casinos opening online. However, slots also took full advantage of this new digital format and in 1996, the first virtual slot called Reel Em, was also introduced to punters and online casinos by WMS Industries. This gave punters a taster of the potential of slots in this new digital age. Now slots rule the roost online and almost all online casinos are more slots focused than table games focused. Slots today are like playing video games and contain animation and complex computer graphics. They are also themed and slots symbols have taken on a life of their own.
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