WHAT IS A SLOT MACHINE?
Slot machines otherwise called slots or poker machine, etc. are casino gambling machines with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed. They are known as one-armed bandits because they were originally operated by one lever on the side of the machine, which is different from the button design. Some modern types still has a legacy lever in addition to the button.
The name “Bandit” acquired by the machine is based on the fact that it can make its player to be impoverished or in depth, for that reason some people do call it “Thief” or “Bandit” machine.
The machines were built for the sole purpose of playing games with coins in a try-your-luck idea and hence usually give out unexpected results. The machines include a currency detector that validates the money inserted to play. During the playing of the game, payments will be made according to the patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops.
There had been new concepts and variations from existing concepts based on the modern technology. The machines had been rated as the most popular and widely used gambling method in Casino and make up seventy percent of the Average U.S. casino’s income.
The name “slot” is based on the openings in the machine which make insertion of coins and payments from the machine possible. It is usually a small hole that allows coins to go in and another hole that allows coins to flow out. Beside the use of coins, modern slot machines make use of currency notes and allows for cash inputs and cash ejections.
HOW SLOT MACHINES WORK (WORKING PRINCIPLE)
The machine as a poking machine works with the principle of multiple rotations with the attached number digits which the final numbers that got displayed will be the amount of money to be released by the machine. If the player inserted $20 and the final display of the slot machine after pressing the play button shows $0.00, it means the player has just lost the $20 inserted and will be required to play again with another money.
Early slots machines made in 1890s were precursor to the modern types. They had five drums holding a total of 50 cards faces and was based on poker. The use of coins dominated the early poking/slot machines due to their design configurations.
The United States had the highest rate of the slot machines usability from the 1890s, with restaurants and provision shops having the machine in strategic places to entertain their customers and enable them play the try-your-luck game. The most popular design that dominated the early slot machines used in the 1890s was the “Liberty Bell machine”.
Despite the early existence of the machine, there were issues with the accuracy of the machine, payment for higher coins when there is little coins in the machine was another issue, and some of them became vulnerable to manipulators, among other deficiencies. These made the early slot machines to become impossible to automate, hence someone needs to stand-by to operate and make payments in most cases.
However, the method of playing the modern slot machines involve the player inserting a cash in the form of a currency note which must be pre-set in the machine, or inserting a code in the form of ticket generated after cash payment or with a barcode, whichever one that is acceptable by the machine will be inserted into the designated slot on the machine. The lever or button in the machine will act as the activator or play key, once pressed or pushed, the machine will automatically play the game to give out the result which may be negative or positive depending on how lucky the player may be.
Most recent slots machines need the player to simply click the “PLAY” button in a touchscreen provided on the machine of which some designs will have the same screen display the game result. The modern types mostly operate in matching symbols either on a mechanical reel that spin and stop to show one or more symbols or numbers, or it may operate based on simulated reels shown on a video screen.
To make it easy to read the symbols, they are usually colored and easily recognizable, some designs use images of fruits, bells, etc. to make the differences recognizable. Modern slot machines have variety of winning combination of symbols and is the basic machine behind most betting and gambling companies across the globe.
HOW FRAUDSTERS MANIPULATE SLOT MACHINES
The slot machines had suffered lots of manipulations from criminals who usually find way to cheat the machine to make their money. The basic way this can be done is to manipulate the working principle of the machine to favor the player. Cheating and scams remain vital issues in the industries using the slot machines. In the past, some ways the machine had been cheated include;
Spinning a coin with a short length of plastic wire such that the weight of the coin would be accepted by the machine and credits would be granted. Meanwhile, the spin created by the plastic wire would cause the coin to exit through the reject chute into the payout tray. However, the method became impossible as the slot machines’ designs started improving.
Another way used to cheat the slot machines was through the use of a light source to confuse the optical sensor used to count coins during payout.
Some computerized slot machines were sometimes defrauded through the use of cheating devices such as the “slider” or “monkey paw”, there had been consistent improvements in modern digital slot machines to overcome the activities of fraudsters and cheating or manipulation from the owners of the machine, making it highly technical or impossible to defraud modern slot machines.
There are local laws guiding the use of slot machines based on the gambling game it is majorly used for. These laws differ from country to country and usually focused on avoiding the abuse of the machine such as dubbing people or allowing under-aged to become a gambler.
