How Have Slot Games Remained Relevant?

Slot machines, slot machines, slot machines... whatever the name given, we know that this type of game is the most popular among online casino games ever created. Since the time when there were only land-based casinos where people had to leave their homes to seek fun and entertainment at a land-based casino, slots have always been sought after by both experienced and novice players.

And why so much fascination and interest in playing these noisy and colorful machines?

Online Casino Slots

Well, certainly the interest and curiosity of many players comes from the reference obtained through movies, programs and series. From then on, several companies and mainly IGT (International Gaming Technology) began connecting games based on popular shows and movies like Casino 007 and Wheel of Fortune, as well as the award-winning Mummy (not just this one, but all oriental and Arabic themed).

With that, images of celebrities also began to be licensed through slots, especially in 1998, with the rock classic, Elvis. From this, it was noted that slots could become even more popular with images associated with personalities such as Marylin Monroe and Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks in the lead role).

But how did this all come about, and what was it like before this internet boom? Let's see a little about exciting history of slot machines that we are aware of today.

Slot Machines Through Time

In the past, slot machines worked manually, with the player inserting the coin to unlock the lever that was located on the side of the machine. This image has always been associated with fun and excitement, as the adrenaline that was obtained by simply turning the crank was impressive.

Seeing the reels spinning and waiting for them to stop to see if the sequence of symbols was the same was the main feature of the game. And even the sequence in which the reels stopped, from left to right, was something strategically thought to increase the suspense between players even more.

The standard machine had 3 reels, with 10 symbols each, meaning 1000 combinations were possible in total. Soon after, machines with 20 symbols per reel appeared, meaning the number of combinations increased to 8000!

Electronic machines appeared around 1960, and the first of these was Money Honey with its random number generators (RNG), multiline and video screens. And this is the closest thing to the slots we have in today's online casinos, without the need to insert coins or tickets, but rather make deposits.

Another determining factor for the relevance we have today with slots for the online gaming industry is the visual and sound experience that traditional machines could not provide. RNG makes thousands and even millions of combinations possible, something that could not have been imagined with manual machines of years ago.

But, returning to the theme of the invention of slots, we cannot forget to mention the first slot in history (and jackpot too). In 1895, the Liberty Bell was invented in the USA and was named after the country's independence. This was the first machine to pay out prizes automatically, which had 3 spinning reels and 5 symbols.

The Money Honey machine only appeared 60 years later, in 1964, and was then the first lever-activated machine – but with fully automatic rotating columns. A few years later, with electricity in full swing, the first video slot on the market is invented and is called Future Coin.

With technology on their side, game developers saw the opportunity to bring games to the computer. In the 90s, the online world was no longer a utopia and became an integral part of every citizen's life, especially Americans. That is, from there, anyone connected to a computer could have fun with slot games without having to leave their home.

A few years later, companies noticed that, in addition to desktop computers, it was also possible to play games from mobile devices connected to a mobile internet network. And that's where we can say that there has been a tremendous turnaround in the online casino gaming industry, with the big tech market, Google Play and Apple Store making it possible for slots to be played on cell phones and tablets.

As a result, the freedom to play anytime and anywhere became of utmost importance to players – proving to be one of the reasons why slots remain relevant to this day.