Although the traditional gambling games like poker, blackjack and roulette are still going strong in the 21st century, over the last couple of decades there has been a profound shift in the way people gamble, with most gamblers now opting to play on online slots rather than the traditional table games. This is something that has been influenced a huge amount by online casinos like King Casino and the fact that you can play it from quite literally anywhere with an adequate Internet connection.
In fact, when you consider how much easier it is to sit and play an online slot compared to a table game in a true brick and mortar casino, it should really come as no surprise that many more people play online slots now. The history of online slots is also incredibly interesting, as it is completely saturated with all manner of technological innovation. Read on for a lowdown on the history of online slots, and some milestones that affected the industry.
Charles D. Fey’s Liberty Bell slot machine
Back in the late 1800s there were a few incredibly rudimentary proto-slot machines knocking about in California, however they weren’t really good enough to become truly commercially successful. This all changed when a man called Charles D. Fey decided to make a few alterations, and ended up creating the Liberty Bell slot machine.
Unlike the slot machines that came prior, the Liberty Bell could pay out coin prizes from the machine itself, meaning that gamblers no longer had to visit the bar to collect their winnings. Mr. Fey’s Liberty Bell machine design very quickly became incredibly popular in his native California, and it didn’t take long before it spread to the rest of the world too.
Invention of the RNG and video slots
Slot machines had cemented themselves as the most exciting new gambling game in the world by the 1980s, being available to play in pretty much any casino in the world. It almost seemed as though things couldn’t really get any better, however this would all change with the invention of the RNG, or Random Number Generator.
With this piece of tech, developers could finally get the reels to spin randomly on a digital screen, and video slots were born. These caused a great deal of excitement, as the video screen meant that more expansive bonus features and game mechanics could be used.
The first online slots
Only a couple of decades later the first online slots hit the market, and these games just wouldn’t have been able to exist without the prior invention of the RNG.
There were a few developers racing to see who could create the world’s first online slot, and it is commonly accepted that the Australian developer Eyecon were responsible for the first one, entitled Temple Of Isis.
The emergence of mobile slots
Around about 2010 the first mobile slots emerged, and this kick-started an even more profound period of growth for the industry.
