Though slot machines have been around for over a century, the way we play has changed dramatically over time. Today’s online slot games – with their 3D graphics, snazzy soundtracks and innovative bonus features – are nothing like the mechanical ‘one-armed bandits’ introduced by Charles Fey in the 1890s.

But how exactly has the slot machine evolved? And why have some features, such as fruit, bar and bell symbols, stuck around for so long? To answer these and other questions, we’re exploring the history of slot machines and slot machine symbols with the help of bgo casino.

Before the Slot Machine

The slot machine didn’t appear until 1895. However, to understand the story behind its invention, we need to rewind back to 1891. This was the year that Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York, released a poker machine, which proved hugely popular in city bars.

The machine featured 5 drums, that held a total of 50 playing cards. Punters dropped a nickel into the machine, pulled its lever, and crossed their fingers for a winning poker hand.

Unfortunately, as there were so many possible winning combinations, the machine was not capable of paying out automatically. Your prize would be whatever the guy behind the bar decided to hand out. Landing a pair of kings, for instance, might have earned you a free drink. A royal flush, on the other hand, could have won you a free cigar.

Arrival of the Liberty Bell

Sittman and Pitt’s machine soon got Charles Fey thinking: what if he could create something simpler, with a direct payout mechanism? The inventor from San Francisco, California, quickly got to work and unveiled his own machine to the public in 1895.

Instead of 5 drums, Fey’s machine was built with just 3 reels. Each reel held 5 symbols: a horseshoe, a diamond, a heart, a spade and a Liberty Bell. Not only are these symbols still widely used in slot machines today, but the latter earned Fey’s invention its name: The Liberty Bell.

The Liberty Bell proved hugely popular in the bars of Fey’s hometown. It wasn’t long before other manufacturers were bringing out their own copycat machines across America. These quickly become known as slot machines, thanks to their slots for inserting and receiving coins.

Getting Around the Law

Unsurprisingly, slot machines attracted a lot of attention at the start of the 20th century. Not all of it was good though. Religious groups were horrified by the overwhelming number of slot machines that started popping up in San Francisco. In 1909, after a lot of campaigning, the decision was made to ban all gambling machines that paid out in cash from several US states.

Luckily for gamblers, however, Fey and other slot machine manufacturers found a way to get around the new law. They couldn’t produce machines that paid out in cash anymore. They could produce machines that paid out in other prizes like food, cigars and gum, though – and this is exactly what they did.

Rise of the Fruit Machine

Mills Novelty Company was the first slot manufacturer to produce a ‘gum dispenser’ slot machine. Fruit symbols were introduced to show the flavours of gum up for grabs. For example, if you landed a line of lemon symbols, you could expect to be rewarded with a zesty lemon-flavoured stick of gum. Mills Novelty also brought in the bar symbol, which is believed to be a stylized image of a chewing gum pack.

For some reason, when the law changed several years later, and cash payouts were allowed once more, fruit and bar symbols stuck around. They even survived the slot machine’s journey across the Atlantic in the 1950s. In fact, in Britain today, slot machines are better known as fruit machines.

Changing Technology

Thanks to advancements in technology, the slot machine evolved quickly in the second half of the 20th century. In the 1960s, mechanical slots were replaced with electromechanical machines like Bally’s Money Honey. In the 1970s, the first-ever video slot was released, boasting a modified 19-inch Sony TV display.

But the biggest change of all came in the 1990s, when the slot moved online. Digitalised slots could be built with more reels, more paylines and more features than early gamblers would ever have thought possible. For the first time ever, you didn’t even have to leave your house to spin the reels of slot machines. It was truly revolutionary.

Slot Machines and Symbols Today

These days, gamblers are spoilt for choice when it comes to slots. Online casinos boast hundreds of slot games themed around everything, from TV shows and movies to sports and celebs. Many are more like video games than virtual gambling machines, with characters, storylines, sound effects and innovative bonus features.

New symbols have also been introduced that are now found in almost every slot game online. You’ve got wild symbols, which – just like wild cards in poker – can act as substitutes for other symbols on the reels. Plus, you’ve got scatter symbols. These don’t even need to land on an active payline to prove rewarding. Scatters pay wherever they appear, scattered about the reels.

Indeed, the slot machine has come a long way since Charles Fey’s day. But if you look closely, you’ll still find nods to the Liberty Bell in modern slots, whether it’s through classic fruit symbols or retro ringing sounds.