Slot machines are one of the most popular games of chance of all time. Since the first slot machine with automated payouts was created in 1891, the reels have continued to spin through time.
Nowadays, you can play slots online, with digital reels and colorful symbols bringing the next level of gameplay to your chosen device. But this begs the question: how do slots work? Read on as we unlock the mechanics of the iconic machines…
The first slot machines
Charles Augustus Fey is accredited with creating the first slot machine.
Known as the Liberty Bell, this machine featured three reels and five symbols.
It was essentially a simplified version of the already existing poker machine, which featured five drums, 50 playing cards and couldn’t provide automated payouts – hence why the Liberty Bell was classed as the first true slot machine.
Without a patent, Fey’s Liberty Bell was used as the basis for many more land-based slots over the years. And before electromechanical Slots were introduced in 1964, the mechanics of these machines remained fairly simple.
A lever, spring, and some reels
The inner workings of land-based slot machines at this time featured a lever and a spring mechanism. By inserting a coin, you could pull down the lever which would stretch a spring inside the machine and set the reels in motion.
The spring would gradually stop the reels from spinning, revealing the outcome.
This is the mechanism that would’ve been behind the iconic games of the fruit machine era. As slot games were banned in 1902, the reels were adjusted to allow fruit symbols that corresponded to the flavor of gum you could potentially win!
Electrical and video slots
As technology progressed and the games became legal again, slot machines also evolved. They no longer relied on a spring and lever system – instead, they operated entirely electrically. In 1976 the first video slot was developed.
This used a modified 19-inch Sony TV for the display and was first featured in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.
With approval from the Nevada State Commission, this machine relied on computer software known as a Random Number Generator (RNG) to create unpredictable outcomes on the reels.
Online Slots
In the modern-day, it’s still trusty RNGs that generate the outcomes of slot games.
In 1996, the first online casino opened its virtual doors, and it didn’t take long for video slots to become available. With graphics and animations becoming more advanced, the games could remain fair and fun thanks to an RNG.
But how exactly does this work?
By creating unpredictable combinations of numbers every single second, an RNG can keep each game fair and fun. With no memory or pattern, the very second you press spin, an outcome that’s as close to computer-generated randomness as can be is decided.
Now you know the inner workings of slot machines – from the very first land-based machines to modern-day slots – do you think you’ll be trying your chances and spinning the reels anytime soon?