1891 - First poker machine by Sittman and Pitt

The first poker machine by Sittman and PittThe history of the "one-armed bandits" goes back to the 19th century. In 1891, the first slot machine was developed in New York by Sittman and Pitt. Before that, there were only machines that had a spinning roulette wheel and the player could only bet on red or black. However, this new slot machine consisted of 5 reels with 10 card symbols each. After the spin, the winnings depended on which card combination or poker hand was achieved. The winnings were paid out at the bar in the form of cigarettes or drinks. Two cards were not represented from the usual 52-card deck: the 10 of Spades and the Jack of Hearts. This halved the chance of a royal flush.

Between 1897 and 1895 - first slot machine designed by Charles Fey

The Liberty Bell is considered the first slot machineOften, however, Charles August Fey is named as the inventor of the first slot machine. The sources for this are not entirely clear (1987 to 1995), but it is plausible that Fey was working towards an automatic payout of winnings when developing his "Liberty Bell" machine, which was not yet technically possible with the poker machine because of the very many different winning combinations. He then reduced the structure of his slot to three reels, which only had the symbols of the card suits (spades, hearts and diamonds) as well as horseshoes and the Liberty Bell. Three Liberty Bells then resulted in the highest possible (automatic) payout. The machine became a huge success and since Fey did not apply for a patent on it, the game principle became common knowledge and was quickly taken up by other slot machine manufacturers.

From 1902 - the time of fruit symbols

The first machine with fruit symbols for chewing gum winningsEven when slot machines were officially banned in 1902, the Liberty Bell was still being manufactured years later. However, since cash winnings were no longer allowed to be paid out, the era of fruit slot machines began. Instead of cards and lucky symbols, fruits were now used and the winnings were candy or gum in the respective flavor. In 1907 Herbert Mills published the "Operator Bell", which quickly spread and by 1908 could be found in many saloons or stores. The now familiar BAR symbol was introduced, based on the logo of the Bell Fruit Company.

1963 - the first electromechanical slot

Honey Money is the first electromechanical slot machine1963 Bally released the first electromechanical slot machine "Honey Money". Even though the reels now started and stopped electrically, the lever was still used to start the game. For the players, the game without this lever was simply still too unfamiliar. However, the machine also came with a new type of coin hopper and could pay out up to 500 coins on its own. The huge success of this slot machine ushered in the era of electromechanical slots and the lever soon disappeared.

1976 - the first video slot

Fortune Coin was the first video slot without mechanics. The next milestone in history was the first video slot (Fortune Coin, 1976), which was purely electronic and the game was played on a 19" TV. At first, the game was set up in California as well as in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and after some modifications to prevent cheating, the game was officially approved by the Nevada State Gaming Commission. As a result, it spread to all casinos on the Strip and downtown. The manufacturer Fortune Coin was acquired by IGT (International Gaming Technology) back in 1978. By the way, in 1985 a slot machine was also developed in the GDR. If you want to know more about it, you can find a lot of info about the Poly-Play slot machine here.

1996 - first multi-screen video slot

The first multi-screen video slot for additional bonus roundsThe next step was taken in 1996 by WMS Industries Inc. with the first video slot that could switch to a second screen to start a bonus game completely different from the regular one. Additional winnings could be paid out there. Slots became more and more popular in casinos and were responsible for up to 70% of the turnover at last and also accounted for about 70% of the available space. Later, this type of slots moved online and evolved into online casino slots that became extremely popular along with the internet.

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