History of Video Slot Machines

Although conventional slot machines date back to the late 1800s, it wasn’t until 1975 that the first video slot machine hit the casino floor. A man by the name of Walt Fraley created the video slot “Fortune Coin”. Surprisingly, players did not immediately accept video slots.

At first, people were skeptical about whether or not you could actually win on a video machine. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that video poker became popular, thereby paving the way for video slots to penetrate the market.

This major turning point would not have happened when it did, if it were not for IGT, International Game Technology. William “Si” Redd founded IGT in 1975. In 1978, IGT purchased Fortune Coin Company, who you’ll remember, introduced the first video slot machine in 1975.

IGT adjusted the video slots system and other components. The popularity of video slots grew. By specializing in video slots, IGT became the second-largest slot manufacturer in the gaming industry.

According to the interview that was held in Public Gaming, March 1982, Redd answered the question, “Did you have any idea back then that it was going to grow into the business it is today?” as follows;

No, I really didn’t. I could see three or four things: First, video slots wouldn’t give any service problems. Second, it would be so much harder to cheat it. Third, I knew that with a video slot you could do so many things that you couldn’t do otherwise.

Coinless video slots

The next big step for video slots was the growth and popularity of the ticket-in, ticket-out system, or coinless machines. This helped pave the way for penny machines and multi-line betting. The system allows players the ability to move quickly from one machine to another without having to carry a bucket of change with them. Over the past few years, all major casinos have moved to coinless slot machines.

Online video slots

Another major invention that has added a new component to slots is the internet. As the internet boomed in the late 1990s, it opened the door for slot manufactures to offer online video slots. There’s no doubt that video slots on the internet have been met with the same skepticism as the first video slots were decades ago.

However, with major improvements to video slots software and online casino security, the internet has become a convenient and increasingly popular way to play video slots online.