Slot machines were initially introduced towards the end of the 1880s, and for more than a century, they largely maintained the traditional three-reel, three-row layout.

Games in this genre initially stuck to the restrictive 33 grid, but this began to change as the online gaming industry matured.

 

More sophisticated game mechanics and operators’ ongoing pursuit of innovative technological solutions have contributed to the rise of this type of gambling in recent years.

 

The Revolutionary Impact of Online Slots

The first ever electromechanical slot machine was released by Bally Industries in 1963. Gambling establishments could now stock their floors with numerous low-priced gaming products that could be played in record time.

 

Symbol combinations on a three-reel, three-row grid were the mainstay of their gameplay. Tokens in a game’s middle row need to be identical to win.

 

Until the introduction of grid-based file formats in the early 2000s, the aforementioned approach was in use. However, creative combinations of symbols did not become commonplace until the 2010s.

For instance, Gonzo’s Quest was released by NetEnt, a Swedish video game developer, in 2011. This vibrant slot machine pioneered the avalanche mechanism and featured a mascot based on the 16th-century Spanish adventurer Gonzalo Pizarro.

 

 

The tumbling one, the cascading one, the falling one. Every time a player lands a winning combination, the symbols that weren’t part of the combination vanish and they get a free re-spin.

 

In 2016, Australian developer Big Time Gaming shocked the market by releasing Bonanza, a revolutionary slot machine powered by the Megaways engine.

 

In such a game system, the amount of symbols appearing on each reel is random and can alter at any time during play. It was so successful that Big Time Gaming now grants licenses to other high-end slot machine manufacturers, such as NetEnt and Pragmatic Play.

 

Developers like Nolimit City and Blueprint Gaming have made strides in recent years by experimenting with reel modifiers and additional rows, looking for novel ways to diversify the online slot experience.

 

The Growing Popularity of Skill-Based Slots

Even while skill-based reel-spinners have only recently started making headlines, they are not new. The states of Nevada and New Jersey passed legislation in 2015 and 2016 permitting the hosting of skill-based gambling games by operators.

 

These goods did not, however, help users become so proficient that they could never lose. The house advantage on each product could only be reduced by a few percentage before being rejected.

 

GameCo and Gamblit Gaming, two of the most well-known names in the industry, both produce slot-inspired games with arcade-style controls.

 

Since many internet gaming licensors/overseers still do not regulate such products, it has been more difficult for online game suppliers to enter into the skill-based slot sector.

 

However, some have diversified into this area, with Betsoft being one example. However, you won’t be able to find their wares just anywhere. The Max Quest games and series from Betsoft are excellent case in point.

They use the same basic principle as fish table shooters, where players take control of various weapons and fire at waves of oncoming mummies. The higher their score, the more valuable the rewards they receive.

 

 

Although this type of slot machine game is becoming increasingly popular, supply is still far behind demand.

 

Next Gaming’s CEO Mike Darley said in a recent interview that the company is seeing a rise in the popularity of skill-based slot machines, especially among the younger generation, who have spent their whole lives playing video games. As a result, people have become accustomed to influencing the outcome of games.

 

Where Do You See Online Slots Going From Here?

In 2016, VR was attempted in the realm of interactive gaming. They were among the many who sought to get a jump on the competition before this technology became commonplace.

 

 

When that didn’t happen as quickly as predicted, businesses backed off of plans to fully adopt the technology. Now they’re at it again; NetEnt has released a virtual reality adaptation of Gonzo’s Quest, and Playtech wants to build on the foundation of virtual reality games it established in 2019 with Hot Gems VR.

 

Although REVIGLiOS, a producer of specialized mobile apps, has experimented with augmented reality slot machines, traditional slot machines appear to be more in keeping with current trends in gaming.

 

New digital gaming venues that take bets in the form of Etherum-based tokens are opening up in the increasingly popular metaverses, or virtual shared spaces.

 

One such place where you may play slot machines with Atari themes is Atari’s Decentraland casino. Therefore, it is possible that the future of slot machines will involve playing them in a virtual environment where players may interact with one another.

 

Last Words

Developers are always coming up with new ways to improve the slot’s playability and attractiveness despite the format’s fundamental restrictions. What will be considered the norm for reel spinning in a few years remains to be seen.

 

However, slot experts may anticipate an increasing selection of virtual reality and skill-based games in the not-too-distant future!