Online entertainment is a colossal industry in 2025, spanning everything from ad-supported free video players to massive film and TV streaming platforms. Within this, carving out a significant piece of the pie is a form of entertainment that dates back to the late 1800s. This particular entertainment is the humble slot machines or, more specifically, the modern online slot game.
Gross gambling yield across online gambling, also known as remote gambling, in the UK clocks in at £6.9 billion each year. Within those billions, the vast majority goes to online slots. In fact, over half of that sum comes from online slots. At £3.6 billion, slots are easily the most popular form of remote gaming in the country, per the Gambling Commission. So, what’s enabled slots to become a multi-billion form of online gaming?
From San Francisco to the Internet
Source: Unsplash
The original slot machine that the current form can align its foundations to was created in 1894. Charles August Fey’s 4-11-44 was built in his basement in CA, and it proved a hit in the nearby saloon. This led to the Card Bell, which had a handle and used cards and poker hands to create wins. In 1899, the Liberty Bell ended up being the game changer, spreading across the city and even being copied in other states.
As the slot machine spread, it took on many forms and established itself in many venues. It became a staple of the mega-casinos in Las Vegas as well as arcades and bars in the UK. It went from three reels with one payline to having five paylines. Where once wins would only come from reel combinations, in came the bonus symbols that’d activate a scaling feature on the upright of the slot above the reels.
Undoubtedly, the biggest breakthrough for slot games came with the rise of online gambling. The first steps were made in the 1990s, and by the early 2000s, there were plenty of online slots mirroring standing slot machines. Eventually, developers began to diversify, adding more reels, paylines, and features. Without the need for hardware, now-classics like the Rainbow Riches slot could infuse multiple animated features and bigger bonuses.
Evolving Without Boundaries
Source: Pixabay
Rainbow Riches remains an incredibly popular game despite, given the state of more recent releases, it could be seen as somewhat outdated. Without 3D graphics and animated symbols while using the old standard for reels and rows setup, it could be seen as a relic. Of course, it’s the core mechanics and gameplay experience that keep it relevant, but that hasn’t stopped developers from pushing the boundaries in the digital space.
Just looking at the slots at the top casino online UK players can sign up to, there’s a wide range of themes, features, and mechanics. There are the ever-popular official and branded slots like Rick and Morty Strike Back and The Lost Boys. Fishing remains the hottest and most sought-after of the feature types, with the catching cash bonuses being present in many new slots like Bigger Bass Splash and Fishin’ Frenzy Even Bigger Fish.
One of the more overt evolutions of slot games online has come with the inception of Megaways. In these slots, there’ll be as many as six or seven reels and symbols of around five different sizes dotted around each reel. With all possible paylines in play, the combinations of these varied symbols and reel stacks can give players over 110,000 paylines on any given spin.
Given how far slot machines, which were already popular in their physical form, have evolved online, it’s easy to see how they generate multiple billions each year in the UK alone.
