From the 19th Century to Now: Free Slots Evolution

By  //  June 17, 2021

The popular slot machines have a fascinating history from humble beginnings as three-reeled, 52-card devices to a billion-dollar niche with millions of fans worldwide. The captivating tale of these machines traces back to the 19th century and has inspired many gambling trends.

The popular slot machines have a fascinating history from humble beginnings as three-reeled, 52-card devices to a billion-dollar niche with millions of fans worldwide. The captivating tale of these machines traces back to the 19th century and has inspired many gambling trends.

The modern-day online slot is the most financially successful of them all despite having been around for only 20 years of the 200-year pokie evolution. These games have continuously adapted to technology to mastered unique features to suit almost any gambler. Here is the games’ journey from humble beginnings in New York to a global sensation.

The Origin: 1891

The US East Coast forever takes credit for the origin of the slot game. Brooklyn-based company Sittman and Pitt crafted the novel creation in 1891. Although it is the earliest known prototype of the pokie, it resembles video poker more than it does slots. This is because inspired by poker and operated on rotating drums with an attached lever.

There were five drums, and each one had ten cards. The house increased the odds in their favour by removing the jack of hearts and tens of spades to cut the chances of landing a royal flash by half. The game cost a nickel to play, but it did not pay cash. Instead, winners collected free drinks and cigars at the counter. 

The Liberty Bell: 1894-1900

The Sittman and Pitt creation gained popularity in pubs and bars, and it finally attracted the attention of Charles Fey. The California-based German mechanic owned his firm that focused on electrical car equipment. His partner and friend, Gustav Friedrich, made the first automated payout machine called the Horseshoe Slot Machine.

Fey improved on the design by adding the Liberty Bell symbol. The invention was placed in a San Francisco salon, and it passed a popularity litmus experiment. The machines were embraced so well that Fey quit his workshop business and began making the devices. They had three reels instead of the original five and six symbols:

■ Hearts

■ Spades

■ Clubs

■ Diamonds

■ Horseshoe

■ Liberty bell

Each round activated with a single nickel bet, and it paid when three icons of a kind landed on the reels. The Liberty Bell was the most valuable item and paid 50 cents. The next few years were a great success for the machine, and they even got featured in the Daily News newspaper.

Mass Production: 1907-the 1940s

Charles held on to the patent of the Liberty Bell machine, but companies began creating other variations and releasing them. He was pushed out of the market to favour the newer options, whose primary source was Chicago’s Mills Novelty Company.

The firm started producing the machines in 1907 but only lasted two years on the market before the US Government banned real money slot machines in 1909. Mills Novelty Company reinvented the games to offer rewards as candies and chewing gums instead, but the nickel bet was retained.

The Mills Liberty Bell, Operator Bell, and Silent Bell were the most popular variations. Within the next twenty years. The company would produce over 30,000 slot games, and they would go on to feature infamous holiday destinations and hotels.

The Electronic Slot: 1964-1975

Bally Technologies was among the major players in the slot industry by the 1960s, and it changed the game in 1964 when it released the first electronic slot machine, Money Honey.

The pokie ran entirely on electricity, but the lever was retained to remain familiar with gamblers. It was used to start gameplay, but it did not influence the rotating reels. The slot had a jackpot win of 500 coins. Over time, levers were replaced by buttons.

Video Slots and Globalization: 1975

The next significant push in slots gambling came in 1975, thanks to Fortune Coin. The company developed the first-ever slot video slot. The machine was exclusive to the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and featured a 19” Sony television. The game had a tepid reception and underwent several modifications before being approved by the Nevada State Gaming Commission.

The machine propelled new popularity heights when IGT acquired Fortune Coin and Electronic Data Technologies companies to integrate the pokies with progressive jackpots. This led to the earliest local jackpot networks in the Megabucks slot game in 1992.

Formalization of The Slots Business: 1990

The gambling industry was venturing into the digital age and consolidating itself, laying the ground for Fortune 500 companies benefitting from the growing markets. Many companies began investing in the future of slots and other casino games. The industry started to pay attention to gaining people’s attention, and new features were popularized like;

  • Progressive jackpots
  • Bonus rounds
  • Free spins
  • Wilds
  • Scatters
  • Multipliers

In the 1990s decade, slots underwent the most significant technological changes that cemented their place as the most popular options to date. In 1997, the average gambling den dedicated about 20% of its floorspace to slots. By 2002, this statistic changed to 70%.

21st Century Revolution

The 21st century is the slot machines’ golden age. The games have adapted well to the internet, leading to explosive popularity among the masses. The technology available on the platform allows game studios to create a different avatar- and story-based slots to entertain almost any gambler.

 The games have a vast range of features that make them more than just reels and icons. The use of hundreds of thousands of win ways has started to become popular. Also, progressive jackpots are widely available in tens of slots and count in the millions.

The Next Generation

Online gambling is undoubtedly the next step for pokie machines, especially mobile games. Mobile gadgets have grown to become the center of many people’s lives and perform different tasks, from communicating with loved ones to keeping track of time and set reminders.

These convenient devices are quickly being adopted as the most popular gambling mode. Nearly all slot providers use HTML5 technology in their titles to be compatible with almost all operating systems. You can play them for free at https://free-onlinepokies.com/.

The graphics and animations used in pokies will only get better with time. Software providers are constantly pushing the entertainment limits of their games through storytelling. Pokies have started adopting complex tales with gamification features, and they might be blended with VR tech in the future to allow players to interact with the game environment.