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History of online slots: Milestones that affected the industry

You may not think it at first, but the history of gambling is actually incredibly interesting, and often bleeds into other aspects of history that you may not have anticipated. You only have to consider the remarkable affect that roulette had on the politics of central Europe during the 1800s to know that we certainly aren’t kidding here.

In the 21st century online slots at Star Slots are undeniably the biggest gambling success story, building on the amazing popularity of slots in the 20th century. The history behind the evolution of online slots is also incredibly interesting, as it blends the worlds of technology, politics and a whole lot more. Keep reading for a rundown of some of the biggest milestones that affected the industry.

Invention of the RNG and video slots

The online slots story actually starts a few decades before their creation, specifically with the invention of the RNG – Random Number Generator – a piece of technology that enabled developers to create the first ever video slots.

Before this all slot machines had to rely on a set of mechanically spinning reels, however with the RNG these days were very much over. Developers were free to create slots using video screens (hence the term video slots), and now they were in a great position to take advantage of the oncoming age of the Internet.

The first online slots

The first online slots arrived right at the beginning of the 21st century, with games such as Temple Of Isis by the renowned Australian developer Eyecon being the first to hit the market.

These little games were a revelation, despite of their shoddy graphics and slow loading speeds. Gamblers were immediately hooked, however it would take a few more years before the online slot industry would arrive at the immense size of today.

The Gambling Act 2004

Before 2004 online slots had one huge problem: an inability to reach most of their target audience. This was due to very strict gambling regulations that meant it was completely illegal to advertise on most platforms, however this all changed when the government introduced The Gambling Act in 2004.

After this the online slot industry was subject to a whole load more regulations, however it also meant that online casino sites and developers were allowed to advertise their games a lot more. It also meant that they were obliged to disclose information such as RTP, making the gambling experience a lot safer for us gamblers.

Improved graphics

The Gambling Act 2004 kick-started the exponential growth of the online slot industry, and now it was time for developers to buck their ideas up in tandem with things like broadband internet. The technology and audience was now there, and developers like NetEnt and Microgaming took advantage of this, refining their slot graphics by a tremendous amount.

Arrival of mobile gaming

Around about 2010 the mobile gaming sphere was made possible by HTML5 technology and the massive increase in smartphones. Out of all the milestones in the history of online slots this might just be the biggest, as it allowed the market to balloon in size.