It seems that slot machines have been here since forever. But in reality, slots are yet to cross the 150 years mark. The exact year of the first slot machine release is disputable, but most gambling scholars agree that the history of slots starts in the 1890s. The exact year when the first slot machine was released depends on what you consider to be the first slot machine. Three different machines were released in three different states on three separate occasions in the 1890s. And each of them can be considered the prototype of the modern slots.
In 1890, Illinois saw the release of the automated poker game machine. It was created by Frank Smith of the Ideal Toy Company. Smith designed the machine to automate poker games. The poker machine had 5 reels and 3 rows that displayed card symbols. The reels would spin upon insertion of the coin into the machine. The outcome was either a winning or losing combination. Upon getting the winning combination, the venue where the machine was displaced was obliged to pay the player.
Merely a year later, Brooklyn-based company Sittman&Pitt presented a similar machine. Sittman&Pitt’s machine had a lever, and players had to push it after inserting the coin to start the game. It quickly gained popularity in the New York bars, where people would play it for different for free beer or cigar. It seems like it is one of the first famous slot machines. Actually, the popularity of Brooklyn’s machine overshadowed the Smith’s one so much that it’s barely mentioned anywhere nowadays.
There were several other machines like that, but in 1895, Charles Fey released his “Liberty Bell” machine. It was a one-armed bandit with three reels and symbols instead of cards. Another addition was the fact that Fey’s “Liberty Bell,” unlike previously mentioned inventions, could grant the player an instant reward. So began the story of slot machines. By the 1950s, slots were bringing 70% of the gambling industry’s revenue. Basically, the same picture as you can see in online gambling.
