Gambling has been a pretty permanent fixture in the history of humanity, even before the creation of the world’s first genuinely commercial and state-run casino popped up in 16th century Venice. In fact, historians have reason to believe that humans have been gambling since pretty much the beginning of civilization, and perhaps even before. Whilst this is all true, we have never seen anything like the extent of gambling in the 21st century, as it is completely and utterly different from any other time in history.
The main reason for this is the sheer amount of new gamblers, something that the majority of people would attribute to slot gambling. Oh yes, slot machines first came to prominence in the 20th century, immediately becoming seriously popular throughout the world. It wasn’t until the 21st century that we got online slots, however, the gambling games that really ended up changing everything – play Love Island slots. Keep reading to find out how the Internet managed to change slot machines forever.
Slot machines before the Internet
Slot machines before the Internet came in many different shapes and sizes, however, it all starts with a man called Charles D. Fey. This Californian engineer wasn’t particularly happy with the rudimentary slot machines that were popping up in taverns across the USA, mainly because they didn’t actually pay out any prizes on their own. Mr. Fey made a few crucial alterations, and the first modern slot machine was born, nicknamed the Liberty Bell after its high-value bell symbols.
This was in the late 1800s, and it took a few decades for slot machines to truly take off in America, something that was almost wholly down to the fact that gambling was illegal in the early 20th century. As soon as it was legalized, however, slot machines became all the rage, especially in gambling hotspots such as Las Vegas.
Video slots and the promise of online slots
Slot machines until the 1980s were purely mechanical creations, that used an elaborate system of reels and gears to create the famous slot gambling experience. In the 1980s, however, the invention of the Random Number Generator allowed developers to create video slots for the first time.
The reels on these games appeared on an actual video screen, which enabled developers to do all sorts of cool things. It also sowed the seeds for the next big slot development – online slots.
The first online slots
Early developers like Microgaming, Eyecon, and NetEnt were busy working on online slot prototypes during the 90s, however, the Internet didn’t really get advanced enough to support these games until the early 2000s.
This is when the first online slots started to appear, and immediately it became apparent that they would change the slot machine gambling world forever.
A Whole New Industry: Online Slots
Let us take a step back and see what came before the all-conquering world of online slots. Of course, it was land-based slot machines that first became popular in the late 1800s, before exploding in popularity during the 1960s, when Las Vegas casinos were at their peak. Since then, they’ve proven to be truly contagious, with millions of players trying their luck on them year after year. At the turn of the millennium, however, this all changed, as the Internet’s recent popularity inspired software developers to try their hand at a new invention: online casino.
Under the umbrella of online casinos, online slots have always been the most important piece of the puzzle, and this was obvious from the start. Developers like Eyecon were the first to truly breakthrough, with their title Temple Of Isis in particular breaking the mold. This is widely considered to be one of the first genuine online slots, emphasizing the public’s desire for practical slot gambling. The online slot industry is now one of the world’s largest gambling industries, demonstrating just how popular these games have become.
The modern online slot explosion
As the Internet became better equipped to handle online gaming, the online slot market absolutely ballooned in size. Nowadays people are playing online slots left right and center, with no sign of there being any let off at all.
A Whole New Industry: Online Slots