Slot machines are like the bricks with which brick-and-mortar casinos were built. They are one of the major reasons casinos became so popular in the late eighties, and they haven’t gone out of style in the gambling universe. Till this day, gamblers of all ages still have the insatiable appetite for slot machine games. As the saying goes : “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. Slot machines may have undergone a few modifications through the years, but the core remains the same. There are trusted online gambling platforms like stakers.com, where gamblers can find top online casinos that are hosting new and improved slot machines built by leading game software providers.
The beginning
The first slot machine was introduced to New Yorkers back in 1891 by a San Francisco mechanic named Charles Fey, and it was a hit right away. Soon Herbert Mills, who was in the business of making coin-operated machines partnered with Charles Fey to make new slot machines called the Mills Liberty Bell on a large scale. They started featuring in shops, supermarkets, barbershops, and bowling alleys. In 1964, the first electromechanical slot games developed by Bally burst into the scene, and the machines pushed far beyond the boundaries of their predecessors. Then, the internet changed the landscape, and everything that was good about the game became better. For years, like crude oil, the slot games were refined by new game technologies, and they became more entertaining and interactive in both online and land-based casinos.
Slot machine games have been the go-to games for many people because they are easy to play. Anyone can play them. The designs and features on new slot machines made them more animated and entertaining. Customers just need to go to their favorite spots and spin the wheel, then wait for their luck to shine. Unlike card games that often require in-depth planning, rigorous strategies and rules that are nerve-racking for most people, slots are as simple as any game can be on a gambler’s path to fortune.
Digitalization
For many years, casinos focused much of their resources on card games such as poker and roulette, but the slot machines are still the fans’ favorites. They are very accessible and cheap in both online and land-based casinos. In the digital age, software providers are flooding the market with mobile apps and slot games appear every so often in their sales pitch. Every gambling platform recognizes how valuable they are to the gambling universe.
Traditional slots passed the torch to online slots, but many people still return to the old machines from time to time. Online slot games have proven to be important tools to connect with different demographics. They have brought online gambling closer to the younger generation through digitalization and gamification. Mobile devices serve as the portal to the untapped population of potential customers for the online gambling industry. Annually, new technologies push online casinos beyond circumstances like the antics of bad press and incessant modifications of rules by regulatory bodies in different countries. Without a doubt, slot games have been vital to the survival and the incredible success of the online gambling industry.
A marketing tool
As a marketing tool, online casinos have used free slots and free spins to hook potential customers. These items are strategically incorporated to mobile apps as bait for the big fishes (the new customers). People tend to try out things with no or minimum risk, and after they have given the game a spin, they often end up playing the paid versions, and other exciting games on the sites.
Online gambling became part of our everyday life in part because of online slot games. Everyone with internet access and mobile devices can play these games anywhere and anytime. The stigma of gambling that seemed impossible to remove is slowly fading away. Casinos have effectively used slot games to expand their market through mobile devices, and it doesn’t seem that this upward trajectory will change.
