Slot games have been around for a lot longer than you might anticipate. They have been a source of our entertainment for centuries and they haven’t shown any signs of becoming any less popular. If anything, they’re more popular now than they were when they first started.
We’re going to be taking you through a history of slot games so that you can get to know where these games came from. We’ll also be looking into the future to see what we think the next phase of developments might be for this popular game.
History of Slot Games
The term slot machine is a shortened version of the phrase nickel-in-the-slot machine. This is because it was how much you needed to play the game. You’re unlikely to find a slot machine that would take a nickel (or 10p) today, but you can still find slots that cost pennies rather than pounds to play.
The mechanics that were used in the old school slot machines were also used for their version of a vending machine. These were around as early on as the late 1800s – a lot earlier than you’d expect these machines to have been invented. They were created by a man called Charles August Fey and the popularity of them soon took off.
He was originally from Germany but made his way over to the United States to try and make his fortune as an inventor. He wanted to take his creations overseas and see if they would bring him the fame, he was so keen to attain.
He created the mechanism that is used in all slot machines and turned it into a game. This game would be set up in a bar or similar kind of establishment and would be used as a way that people could win a free drink. The mechanism that would give you money as a prize wasn’t invented at the same time as the slot machine mechanism – that would come along later.
This meant that the barkeep would decide what prize a winner would win. It would typically be a free drink, but this could be made up to something more if they won multiple times.
By 1898, the automatic coin slot was invented, and the winner would get some money back from the money they put in. This was turned into a game called The Liberty Bell and it’s basically the same as the slot games we have now. Nothing much has changed in the mechanism of the old school slot games that you still find in land-based casinos.
But of course, the game has changed slightly since online casinos have come into play. Now that the game is online, the mechanism has changed to a computer that randomises the symbols that you see on the screen. However, we think that the land-based casinos will keep their slot games for a little longer yet.
How Will Slot Games Change in the Future?
Advanced Technology
Technology moves along all the time, so we can expect the same in the future. We’re already seeing changes within the slot game landscape. We’ve gone from people playing slot games on their computers or laptops to being able to play slot games via a mobile app.
This is a huge leap in a very short amount of time – so just imagine how things are going to change in the next few years. It’s certain to make slot games even more fun for everyone.
Artificial intelligence is one technology that is being used more and more, and we are starting to see that in slot games. When a player gets recommended a game that they might like based on what they’ve played before, that is an AI computer looking at information it must make predictions for you.
If you’re a beginner, AI can adjust the game to make it a little easier than it would be for those playing at a higher level. This is the kind of technology we can expect to see expand.
Different Ways to Play
Another way that slot games are set to change in the future is where we play them. We’ve gone from playing them in land-based casinos, to playing them at home, to playing them on the move. It looks like we might be moving them back indoors!
Esports arenas are becoming a big thing and the next games we will be able to play there could be casino games like slots. It’ll bring back social gaming in a big way, and we look forward to gaming with friends again.
What are you looking forward to most about the future of slot games?
