Slots History

Slots have never looked back since the first real Slot machine was invented, and Slots history began, late in the 19th century. The man we can thank is Charles Fey, a mechanic from San Francisco who introduced the world to the Liberty Bell – a three reel Slot with spade, heart and diamond symbols alongside a Liberty Bell jackpot symbol. The cast iron slot had a lever to operate it and was the forerunner of all modern day slot games.

As the popularity of Fey’s Slot machine grew, demand surged and in 1907 a manufacturer produced a copy of Fey’s machine called the Operator Bell. In the design of the Operator Bell, the card symbols on the reels were replaced by pictures of fruits and the fruit machine was born.

More and more companies began to jump on the bandwagon as slots started growing into one of the most popular casino games. Some offered straight cash prizes while others gave treats away such as gum. These treats lead to the introduction of another classic casino slot symbol when the Bell Fruit Gum Company placed a BAR logo on the reel as an advert for their product.

The 1960s saw a move away from the old fashioned mechanical slots but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the first fully electronic slot machine, which allowed for more reel combinations. This also led to the second major revolution in the history of slots as it allowed for the widespread introduction of microchips inside machines in the 1980s.

The introduction of microchips, which contained random number generators to control the outcome of spins, changed the face of slot machines. The results no longer relied on the order or size of the reels but instead were determined by the programming on a chip. The new technology also allowed for several slots to be linked to create progressive jackpots with astronomical payouts.

The random number generators sowed the seeds for the final and most dramatic Slots revolution. With the advent of the internet and with the programming technology already around, it wasn’t long before the first Online Slots appeared and changed the world of the Online Casino and Slots forever. The ability of computer graphics allowed for ever more extravagant and entertaining games and, at the same time, the payout percentages offered were put at levels that casino Slots players could previously only dream about. This all meant that people could play Slots and enjoy better chances of winning without even leaving home!

What happens next is unknown. The advances in technology carry on inspiring new online casino games and, with the advent of online Casinos, it seems that anything is possible for Slots. In the meantime you can visit Casino Tropez to play the best Slots games in a casino online.