Since their initial invention back in 1894, modern-day slot machines have come a long way. Despite their simple nature, they quickly became (and remain) a staple in almost every casino worldwide. Since then, slot machines have evolved, adding new rules, features, and themes, leaving bettors with many different types of slots to choose from.
It’s important to know all the different kinds of slot machine games and their rules to find the best types of slots to play that suit your unique tastes and preferences.
Types Of Gaming Machines
There are many different kinds of slot machine games. Aside from their rules and themes, they also differ from region to region. For example, in Australia gaming slot machines are referred to as “pokies”. This derives from the term “poker machine” as in “video poker” as eventually, slot machines and video poker machines were referred to as the same thing in Australia.
There are also fruit machines. Fruit machines aren’t only a specific genre of slot machine game but also the term that the British use to refer to slot machine games in general.
Casino Types Slots
Slot machines initially got their big start in traditional on-land casinos. On-land casino slot machines (while some are still offered online) offer a slightly different experience than video slots offered in online casino platforms.
Casino-type slots will typically consist of the absolute most popular titles from the biggest developer names; such as NetEnt, Playtech, Yggdrasil, NextGen, and Pragmatic Play.
Types Of Slot Machines Online
In the modern day, bettors can access slot machines from anywhere in the world; from on the go to the comfort of their own homes. With the popularity of online casino platforms, more and more niche types of slot machines are also offered online.Slot machines bettors can find online include 3D, video, progressive, mobile, and even VR (virtual reality) slots!
Slot Machine Types
Here is a quick breakdown of all the most common/popular slot machine variations found in both on-land casinos and online betting platforms.
| Slot Machine Type | Unique Feature | Pros | Cons |
 Traditional Slots | Gives an authentic antique feel with physical moving reels | Less complicated than modern-day video slots | Can be too simple and slow-paced for experienced players |
 Fruit Machines | The British term for slot machines | Attractive fruit-themed symbols and imagery | Doesn’t differ much from other modern-day slot machines |
 Video Slots | Uses a digital touchscreen and a single button to operate | Can feature more than 3-5 reels, and offers various paylines | Can be overwhelming or too complicated for newer bettors |
 Progressive Slots | Offers a progressive jackpot | The jackpot continuously grows as each bettor plays | Chances of triggering the progressive jackpot are low |
 Multi-line Slots | Offers many different paylines | Offers more opportunities to hit winning combinations | Even with low denominations, plays can add up quickly over time |
Traditional Slots
Traditional slots are often referred to as vintage or old Vegas-style slot machines. Traditional slots are based on the earliest designs of slot machines. While modern-day slot machines are digital and have monitors that simply play a video of the spinning reels, the original version of slot machines had physical moving parts.
Most modern-day slots will have a simple touchscreen monitor, digital currency, and a button to initiate each spin. However, these traditional slot machines typically had 3 physical reels that would manually spin at the pull lever and operate on physical coins.
While some casinos have authentic vintage slot machines, they generally are only for display. However, some newer slot machines are built in the likeness of old Vegas slots which are open for bettors to play on. These newer models have 3 to 5 reels.
Fruit Machines
The term “fruit machine” is the British term for regular slot machines. While there are a few aspects that set them apart, fruit machines aren’t too different from American slot machines. These are slot machines that (as they sound) feature fruits as their main theme and have fruit-related icons as their symbols.
These are the machines that popularized the term “one-armed bandits” due to bettors continuously pulling the machine’s lever to activate another spin. These machines aren’t only seen in casinos like most slot machines. Instead, fruit machines are often seen in pubs and amusement arcades.
Video Slots
Video slots take up the majority of slot machines offered in most casinos. Video slots typically work the same way traditional slots do; they are simply more modernized. While traditional slots rely on many physical moving parts, video slots all rely on a simple touchscreen and button.
These slot machines don’t have moving parts and instead play a video of the reels spinning. From this screen, players can adjust denominations and check rules. Video slots typically operate on virtual credits (usually stored in a card) and have their spins activated via a convenient button instead of a lever.
Progressive Slots
Video slots take up the majority of slot machines offered in most casinos. Video slots typically work the same way traditional slots do; they are simply more modernized. While traditional slots rely on many physical moving parts, video slots all rely on a simple touchscreen and button.
These slot machines don’t have moving parts and instead play a video of the reels spinning. From this screen, players can adjust denominations and check rules. Video slots typically operate on virtual credits (usually stored in a card) and have their spins activated via a convenient button instead of a lever.
Progressive Slots
Progressive slot machines are called such due to their tempting progressive jackpots. Progressive slots are slot machines that incorporate a jackpot that slowly increases every time a spin is made, up until it is won.
These slot machines are set up in a way where they will take a small portion of every single play and add it to the progressive jackpot. Over time, the jackpot will grow and can be triggered with a single play (that is worth the minimum amount to quality for the jackpot).
There are different types of progressive slots; ones that are limited to one single machine and ones that pool the progressive jackpot from a large group of slot machines.
Single/stand-alone progressive slot machines have jackpots that grow much slower over time as they only take contributions from one single machine. Meanwhile, in-house or wide area progressive slots grow very quickly as they pool their overall jackpot from many different machines, but are more difficult to win.
Multi-Line Slots
Multi-line slots are slot machines that utilize more than one single payline. The very first iterations of slot machines only featured one single payline that ran across the middle. However, multi-line slots utilize far more than the single standard payline.
However, it is important to note that there are many rules that are unique to each multi-line slot machine. Some multi-line slot machines require players to play in order to earn and activate multiple paylines instead of simply choosing to play them from the start. Many of these slot machines will have the number of paylines differ from machine to machine or even from one play to another.
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