Online Casino Video Slots – What are Video Slots?

What are video slots? A brief history of video slots and comparison of video slots and online casino slots.

An introduction to Video slots

Charles Fey probably had no idea how big his invention was when he designed the Liberty Bell slot machine in 1895. From that moment there has been no looking back and slots manufacturers have been working on improving on his designs ever since, finally coming up with the video slot machine.

There are many thousands varieties of video slots, some boasting up to 50 winning lines, as well as special extra bonus games. This ensures more wins and a more entertaining playing experience in general.

Video Slots differ from traditional slots in that you press a button instead of pulling an ‘arm'.  Slot machines originally had mechanical reels, which physically spun around. As technology and electronics have taken over the gambling world, Video slots have proven to be more popular, fazing the others out. Video slots can have as many as seven reels. If you think about it, all online Slots are really Video slots. The Video slot bonus round is the one thing that most gamers love them.  Bonus rounds make slots more interesting and allow players to possibly win extra credits by completing series of new challenges and tasks.

Brief history of the video slots machine

The electro-mechanical slot machine was invented in 1964.
Bally Manufacturing released the "Money Honey" machine that proudly had some exciting new additions to separate it from its predecessors. The insides relied on electronic parts rather than the traditional springs. Furthermore, they added lights, sounds, a hopper for coins, and the choice to wager more than one coin.

The first video slot machine hit casino floors as early as 1975.
Walt Fraley made history by inventing the first video screen game, called "Fortune Coin".  Unfortunately, players proved to be a bit skeptical about the technology and the games were not very popular.  Gamers did not trust the new virtual reels, and still preferred the popular spinning reel slots.

In 1976, International Game Technology stepped in.
Luckily, International Game Technology (IGT) understood video slot's potential and advantages.  They decided to purchase the Fortune Coin manufacturer and used their own unique technology to design a host of exciting new games. This proved to be a very wise choice and they grew to be the 2nd biggest slot designer, their focus remaining video reel slots.

Video poker finally became popular in 1979.
After video poker was invented, it was only a matter of time before all video slots to become more popular. Players quickly cottoned on to video poker machines and many other designers and manufacturers now started to introduce the 1st wave of video slots.

Innovations, bonus games and linked progressive jackpots have been improving ever since. Although there have been no major breakthroughs, slot machine manufacturers have been constantly working and adding on new and exciting features to video slots, ever since the eighties. An exciting addition has been the linking of jackpots to wide network progressives as well as the invention of the bonus game. By linking jackpots to progressive networks, casinos can now easily offer multi-million dollar jackpots that grow and are hit frequently.