The Internet has ensured slot machines are available online as well. As a result of the gambling industry opting for a presence on the Internet as well, online slots have becomes highly popular among players from all over the world. In simple words, online slots are games that you can play at gambling websites and online casinos hosting them. That online slots are hugely popular is undoubted, given that every website has a section devoted to online slots. The primary reasons for the popularity of the game are ease of play and high cash incentives.
Traditionally, the slot machine has always been coin-operated. You insert a coin in the slot on the machine, and the game starts, hence the name slot machines. A traditional slot machine has a minimum of three reels; some of them may have more than three, even five. These reels start spinning when you insert the coin in the slot and then hit the lever, which is located on one side of the machine. These slot machines also have currency detectors, whose function is to check that you have entered the right denomination of coins for the game to start. It is for the machine to determine if you are the winner of a game. It makes this decision based on a pattern of signs that appear on its screen once the machine stops.
Things are different in the case of online slots. The primary and major difference is the lack of a physical slot machine. There is no physical machine in online slots, just the image of a machine on the screen of your computer. The only machine involved in online slots is the computer on which you are playing the game. The entire game is played out on the screen of the computer. The game, because of the flashy screens and layouts, seems much more enjoyable online.
Another big difference between traditional and online slots is in terms of the location. The traditional slot machine, because of its size, is not something you can lug around wherever you go. It is physically located at specific points in a town or a city. This means you have to step out of your house to get to such a joint and play slots. That problem is taken care of in online slots. Since online slot games are virtual events, you can play them wherever you can place a computer. All you need to have is a computer and Internet access. This means you can play the game from the comfort of your home itself.
There are those who feel the increasing popularity of online slots makes it a threat to the traditional slot machine. However, there is no clear data to support this line of thought. Gambling is an industry that will not die out, as it thrives on the human desire to challenge the odds and emerge victorious, and so the future of slots – traditional and online – is safe for now.