How Online Slots Evolved Using New Gaming Technologies
Tue, Apr 4, 2023
by
CapperTek
New slots crop up every month. Some of them become fan-favorites instantly. Others are forgotten within weeks. When you think about it, iconic slots have one thing in common--they make great use of technology.
Sure, technology isn’t the only thing people look for in a slot. Players also consider payout rates, bonus rounds, and betting limits. Nonetheless, technology plays a major role in determining the success of a slot.
In this article, we’ll breakdown all the ways technology helped slots evolve into the games they’ve become today. Let’s get started.
Advanced Slot Machines
Online casino technology in the 1990s was simple. And so were the games. Over time, technology improved. This ushered in a new era of advanced slot machines.
Think of video slots. They look beautiful. They have themes inspired by the world—sports, nature, Greek gods, TV shows and movies. What’s more, these games have fun features that improve your gaming experience, from wilds to multipliers.
Beyond video slots, advanced hardware and software technology has improved progressive slots tremendously. For example, you can play games with guaranteed jackpots.
Known as hot drop jackpots, these games trigger a small jackpot every 60 minutes. There’s a bigger jackpot at the end of the day and a super pot worth up to $300,000.
Another way slots have advanced as a result of technology is evidenced in Megaways slots. These slots come with a reel modifier that activates new icons with every spin. In turn, the games are more volatility but have a lot of ways to win and high maximum payouts.
Mobile Technology
It seems almost everyone you know owns a smartphone. It might be a cheap android phone or the latest iPhone model. But it’s a smart, handheld device that can be used to play slots online or bet on sports.
Surprisingly, mobile gaming exploded a decade ago. For a long time, you needed a cubicle desktop to gamble online. But once the iPhone came out in 2007, everything changed. People started buying smartphones in large numbers.
A decade later, more people play slots through smartphones than through desktop computers. No, smartphones are not more powerful. They’re just more convenient.
To expound more, smartphones are cheap, portable and versatile. More importantly, they play casino games efficiently, meaning you don’t need to buy a laptop unless you have another use for it besides gaming.
With that said, there’s a handful of slots that don’t run on modern smartphones. These are slots created in the early 2000s and were never redesigned to support mobile gaming.
Graphics and Video Technology
Take a look at any video slot from the 1990s. Compare it with a modern machine. It’s like day and night. The graphics have advanced so much that symbols sometimes look like they’re leaping out of the screen.
Graphics play an important role in the success of slots. If they’re beautiful and modern, people will want to play the game. If a game has poor graphics, people will tend to avoid it.
Although graphics technology has improved, not every software provider prioritizes looks. Some developers keep things simple so that their game can run smoothly on older devices.
With some developers, though, graphics are given a premium priority. Slots feature 3D graphics while videos support full HD or 4K resolutions. The visuals add appeal to a slot, of course. In fact, beautiful visuals are the reason some slots are so popular.
No Download Casinos
Before 2010, it’s was pretty standard to download a casino’s software before you could play its slots. It was a tedious process, especially if you wished to play slots from different casinos.
As technology advanced, casinos embraced no download software. Adobe Flash became an unnecessary tool—it was previously used to run gaming software online.
These days, it’s difficult to find a casino that asks you to download software. Every site operates online through a web application. All you need is to create one account. Then you can synchronize it across all your devices.
Beyond saving storage on your devices, no download casinos are faster and more convenient. They support hundreds of games and are more secure. In other words, there’s no reason for download casinos to exist in today’s world of advanced technology.
Banking and Withdrawals
Gone are the days when you could only deposit money to a casino through credit/debit cards or bank transfer. These days, you can use a wide range of banking options, from e-wallets like PayPal to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Digital wallets support instant payments, which ensures you can play slots immediately you fund your account. If you join a crypto casino, you can use bitcoins to play games created on the blockchain.
These are banking features we wouldn’t access today if technology never improved. And there’s more. Think of chargebacks. They allow you to ask for refunds if you encounter an online scam.
When it comes to withdrawals, these same payment companies make it possible to cashout your profits. E-wallets and crypto provide the fastest payment options. But if you’re planning to withdraw a large amount of money, bank transfer is your best option.
Gameplay and Features
Today’s video slots are ages ahead in terms of features and gameplay. In the beginning of iGaming, a slot had a couple of icons to help you adjust your bet sizes and hit ‘play.’
These days, playing a slot feels like immersing yourself into a different world. Not only can you adjust the paylines and other standard features, but you can also buy bonus rounds.
What’s more, you can toy around with features like a wheel of fortune, cascading reels or multipliers. Some slots also come with skill-based features to improve interactivity.
The Future of Slots
The future of slot machines is mobile. More importantly, it involves VR, AR and other advanced technologies. Crypto could also become an integral part of this future—provably fair slots built on the blockchain. In the meanwhile, the best-rated video slots have every slot you need to have a delightful experience.