Slot games advanced a great deal within the 20th century. Initially having been games played for sweets as the prize as opposed to cash, this was one of the largest changes of the century but it was not until much later than you may imagine. Money Honey saw the introduction of cash prizes in 1963 and not only was it the first slot game to give prizes of monetary value but it was also the first electrical slot machine. This was where the big changes began to occur in the slots industry but where did slots and free slots spins come from in the first place?
First Slot Game
The first slot game ever recorded was that of Operator Bell which was released into the community in 1907. It had lots of fruit symbols on the screen and is what we now come to term as a fruit machine. This game was incredibly popular and soon the most frequented places along the high streets all had a fruit machine of their own. They could commonly be found in barbershops and saloons. They were not particularly advanced in their technology but they were great entertainment for people waiting their turn in high street shops. Due to the popularity of this early slot game, it took a long time before it was superseded by the electrical slot, but the video slot soon replaced them both.
Video Slots
The video slot hit the scene in 1976 and replaced the electrical slots worldwide. Players were mesmerized due to the large TV screen embedded within them, the colours, graphics and the impressive sound effects. The very first video slot was installed in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. It did not get immediate approval from the local Gaming Commission as it was quickly found that there were ways to cheat it, but once these issues were modified, the game was released for anyone and everyone visiting Las Vegas to be able to play.
Digital Slots
As the 90s saw the invention of the internet, this brought with it the wonder of online gaming and internet slot playing. This was a real turning point for the gambling, gambling and entertainment industries. The first online casino went live on the internet in 1996. Though the range of games was nowhere near what we are used to be able to access now, this was revolutionary then. Anyone with access to the internet could access a casino-style game, placing bets, potentially winning money and not having to leave their home or office in order to be able to do so.
Once the internet had been created and the first casinos had been developed online, there was no stopping the online casinos and this saw a huge surge of online games development. It wasn’t long before Reel Em, the first ever video slot was released online, which led the way for every other slot game we now have available to us on the internet. Though none of this was a particularly long time ago, the chances are almost unrecognizable and the internet has been the real turning point in the evolution of the tech advancements in the slots industry.
