The Evolution of Online Slot Games

The traditional image of a slot machine is the traditional one-armed bandit, originally found in San Francisco at the turn of the century.

It was here in the US the slot machine was born, with Charles Fey creating the Liberty Bell, with three spinning wheels and a single pay line. As technology advanced, so did slot machines, and by the late 20th century, they were full of winning combinations, flashing lights and glamor. When one thinks of Las Vegas, the City of Lights, you might think of entertainment shows, but it is hard not to imagine gamers hunched over slot machines with their pots of coins. It’s an image created by the 1995 film casino, which endures today.

The modern slot machine is very different because many of them are online. There are close to 200,000 slot machines in Las Vegas, but a single online slot provider often offers thousands of games on one site. It’s a growing industry across the United States; KDKA Radio states it generated $53bn in revenue in 2021, of which $3.71bn came from online providers. That’s 7% of the overall gaming sector coming from iGaming, which is strong when you consider the $53bn includes established casinos and sports wagers.

Much of the online gaming offering is focused on slot machines, and they’ve moved on significantly since the days of the Liberty Bell and the spinning cherries and melons of old. Today’s slots are reactive, they’re innovative, and as they’re online, they’re accessible as well. Here are three ways online slots have evolved to offer a much better experience for gamers than ever before.

Game Variation

The first and obvious example of the online slot revolution comes with game brandings and titles. In a casino, many of the games tend to be the same, either based on slots of old or still offering old spinning wheels. There are electronic games, but the action of sitting at them and feeding them with coins or money is the same. Online, every game feels inherently different. There is such a wide variation; a typical provider may have thousands of online slots that appeal to different types of games. In the Foxy Bingo games, there are branded slots using famous people, such as Bruce Lee, and more generic titles such as Starburst and The Big Catch. The intention is to advertise those games in a targeted way, be it over YouTube, social media or on their sites, and try to increase appeal. With a casino’s slots, you have to have walked into the location to experience the range, making diversity less important.

Game Types

As well as game variation, developers have evolved their online slots in terms of game types. There are many different ways to win, such as Megaways which have more than 100,000 pay lines in some instances. Slingo, a hybrid of bingo and online slots, presents you with a card full of numbers to tick off and a five-reel spinner providing those numbers. There are progressive jackpots, games with a cumulative prize total that increases over time as people play. This can end up paying out seven figures, an impressive haul that reflects prizes on offer in the big casinos of the world.

Immersive Experiences

An online slot these days is not just a slot machine. It’s not just one in a long row in a carpeted hall of a physical casino. Each game is an immersive experience, offering the gamer not just a chance to win but something deeper. For instance, games such as Western Gold 2 put you in the Wild West, with music that sets the scene and reels featuring six-shooters, Stetsons and spurs. If that’s not your thing, perhaps a Game of Thrones-themed game is, with familiar music and branding from the show. The point is that each game is closer to a video game than an online slot, and as technology increases, they’re only going to become more immersive. VR and AR are disrupting gaming in a big way, and if they make their way to online casinos, these experiences will become much greater. It’s highly unlikely Charles Frey ever imagined the scope within his humble creation.

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