Slots and pokies are some of the oldest gambling games in the modern world. They saw their beginnings at the start of the twentieth century, and have attracted a vast audience ever since. Here is an overview of slot machine history and how they have developed through the years.

The first ever version of the slot machine was seen in 1891. Pittman and Sachs created a machine with five drums, each showing poker hand symbols. When players would win at these games, the machine would not pay out; rather, the bar housing them would provide players with drinks.

It might be four more years before Charles Fey would create the version of the slot machine with which we have been most acquainted today. The equipment provided players with cash payouts when it revealed matching symbols. The recognition of these games caught on very quickly, until anti-gambling groups enacted a ban on slot machines in the early twentieth century.

The ban only lasted a few years, and it wasn't long before slots became popular again in casinos. It was through the 1950s that slot machines started to become popular all over the world. In 1953, Australian gaming company Aristocrat took note of the new trend and decided to manufacture its own brand reference of electronic gaming machines called pokies. The company's first machine was called the 'Clubman'.

Although it will be a long time before we would see online slots, casinos in Las Vegas started making electronic slot machines, moving away from the standard, mechanical slot games that had become popular over the years. These machines were more reliable than mechanical slots and made it harder for people to cheat casinos. During this time, electronic slots also saw the invention of the random number generator which made playing slots even more unpredictable.

Over the next few decades, slots would remain the same. It would not be until the turn of the Century that we begin seeing the advent of online slots. The very first online slots games were seen around 2001, when the first internet casinos went live. Companies like Microgaming got on the ground floor, creating several of the first online slot machines available to the public.

For the past several years, slots have become some of the most common games at online casinos, along with making up over 80% of land-based casino revenue. In the online world, players can find hundreds of distinct online slots games, many of which feature fun and inventive themes. Players are also able to locate a wide range of branded and themed slots games, featuring innovative gaming technology.