The 7 Most Famous Slot Machine Companies
Companies have been making slot machine games for well over a century. And over time, certain companies have gained name recognition due to their hit slots, innovative features, and / or exploits in other business avenues.
What are the companies that have become most famous in the slots world?
You can find out below as I cover the 7 most famous slot machine manufacturers and what games they're responsible for.
1. IGT
With offices stretching from Las Vegas to Rome, International Game Technology, or IGT, is widely regarded as the largest slots producer in the world.
IGT launched in 1971 under the A 1 Distributing brand. By the 1980s, they made their mark in the slots industry by creating Megabucks, the first ever wide area progressive slot machine.
Megabucks is still extremely popular in land based casinos today, having awarded more progressive jackpot money than any other slot in history.
In 1996, IGT launched another legendary slot machine called Wheel of Fortune. Based on the long running game show, Wheel of Fortune has paid out millions in jackpot money over the years.
Thanks to their acquisition of WagerWorks in 2005, IGT entered the online gaming space and has since turned out a number of online hits like Cleopatra, Coyote Moon, CSI: Slots, Family Guy, Ghostbusters, Jeopardy!, and Wolf Run.
But IGT continues to excel the most in the brick and mortar space, creating games like Avatar, Back to the Future, Breaking Bad, Bridesmaids, Dirty Dancing, Ellen, House of Cards, Judge Judy, Orange is the New Black, Sex & The City, Star Trek, TMZ, and The Hangover.
One more thing worth adding is that IGT was acquired by the Italian gaming company GTECH in 2014 for $6.4 billion. It's been business as usual ever since, aside from the company being renamed IGT PLC.
2. Bally
Bally is possibly the most innovative slots developer in the industry, which is strange considering that their company started in a totally different direction.
Launched in 1968 under the name Advanced Patent Technology, the company collected over 80 patents within its first decade. A couple of their most notable patents included an ultrasonic meat tenderizer and an ultrasonic fluidic fuel system for combustion engines.
It wasn't until the 1980s that Advanced Patent Technology got involved in the gaming industry and began producing slot machines. After a series of name changes and failed casinos, Bally made their mark by producing cutting edge slots technology that defines the company today.
In 2010, Bally unveiled the U Spin feature, which lets players spin a wheel during slots bonus rounds through a touchscreen. This development won Best Slot Product honors at the 2010 Gaming & Technology Awards.
Other Bally innovations include iREELS, which uses an LCD screen to create an intense 3D effect, and the iDECK, which allows you to control bonus round features with your hands.
Some of the notable slot machines produced by Bally include Betty Boop, Cash Spin, China River, Duck Dynasty, Grease, Hot Shot, Money Vault, Pawn Stars, Playboy, and Wild Huskies.
In 2014, Bally was purchased by Scientific Games for $5.1 billion and is now a subsidiary of the latter.
3. Amaya
Amaya made international headlines in June 2014 when they announced plans to buy PokerStars for $4.9 billion. This deal made Amaya the world's largest publicly traded online gaming company just a decade after they launched in 2004.
Despite their close association with online poker now, the Canadian company continues producing online and land based slots too. Many of Amaya's land based slots have been adopted into online versions.
Popular slot machines that Amaya has developed or acquired include Batman, Battle of Olympus, Captain Nemo, Cash Grab, Conan The Barbarian, Emerald Island, Forrest Gump, Green Lantern, Jade Idol, Jenga, King Kong, Millionaires Club, Rags to Riches, Street Fighter II, Superman: Last Son of Krypton, The Flash Velocity, and Vampires vs Werewolves.
Amaya is also involved in business to business deals, completing several major transactions besides the PokerStars deal.
They acquired Chartwell for $23 million in 2011 and Cryptologic for $35.8 million in 2012. Amaya also signed a deal with Aristocrat to adapt some of their land based slot machines into online slots.
In 2015, Amaya sold Chartwell and Cryptologic to NYX Gaming for $110 million in cash and $40 million in NYX Digital shares. This move marked the company's exit from the B2B space so that they can focus on their business to consumer operations.
4. Microgaming
Launching in 1994 on the Isle of Man, Microgaming is a true pioneer in the online gaming world. They're credited with developing the first ever online casino, Gaming Club, as well as over 600 online slots.
Aside from the volume of games they offer, Microgaming has become famous for delivering record breaking jackpots through their Mega Moolah game.
In January 2013, an anonymous Finnish man won a record online payout of €17,861,813 through Mega Moolah. But this was topped two years later when a British soldier named Jonathan Heywood won €17,879,645 in October 2015.
Other popular Microgaming slots besides Mega Moolah include Agent Jane Blonde, Avalon, BAR BAR Sheep, Battlestar Galactica, Cashapillar, Game of Thrones, Hellboy, Hitman, Immortal Romance, Jurassic Park, King Cashalot, Major Millions, Terminator 2, The Dark Knight Rises, Thunderstruck, and Tomb Raider.
5. Arisocrat
Aristocrat Leisure Limited is the oldest company on this list, having produced their first slot machine in 1953. Aristocrat has since become one of the world's largest slots manufacturers with games in over 200 licensing jurisdictions.
This Australian based company is best known for developing hundreds of land based slot machines. But as mentioned before, they signed a deal with Amaya to create online versions for their most popular slots.
Aristocrat is famous for slots classics like Big Red, Let's Go Fish'n, Queen of the Nile, Wicked Winnings, Wild Panda, and Wolf Moon.
Aristocrat continues to be a major player in the slots industry today, producing more modern games like Britney Spears, Dumb & Dumber, Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, and The Walking Dead
6. Konami
Konami is far from the biggest slot machine manufacturer on this list. But they're definitely one of the most famous due to their success in the arcade and video game industries.
Launching as a repair and jukebox rental business in 1969, this Japanese company began developing arcade games in the 1970s. Konami achieved great success in the 80s with hit games like Frogger, Scramble, and Super Cobra.
They saw more success in the console gaming market with NES / Famicom releases like Castlevania, Contra, and Metal Gear – all of which have spawned sequels and been adapted to later consoles.
In 2005, Konami opened an office in suburban Las Vegas, which marked their move into casino gaming. They've since opened an office in Australia too because of the heavy interest in gambling there.
Some of the slot machines that Konami has produced for both online and brick and mortar casinos include African Diamond, African Treasure, Ancient Dragon, China Shores, Full Moon Diamond, and Treasure Voyage.
7. WMS Gaming
A subsidiary of the Williams Manufacturing Company, which launched in 1943, WMS Gaming gained notoriety for producing arcade and pinball games in the 1970s and 80s.
Both industries began declining in the 90s, though, leading WMS Gaming to focus on slot machines. And the Chicago based company quickly made its mark in 1996 by introducing multi line and multi coin secondary payouts through Reel 'em In.
These two innovations helped accelerate a slots industry that had previously relied on simple themes and payout structures.
Although WMS Gaming makes over 70% of its revenue in the US casino market, their products are also found in other countries like Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, and the UK.
Some of WMS' notable slot machines include Amazon Queen, Bruce Lee, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Giant's Gold, King of Africa, Kronos, Reel 'em In, Star Trek: Red Alert, Wizard of Oz, and Zeus.
Conclusion
IGT PLC, Bally, and Aristocrat are a few of the giants that have shaped the slots industry. These companies have developed hundreds of slot machines that can be found in casinos around the world.
But as Microgaming has proven, you don't need to have a brick and mortar presence to be an industry heavyweight. Microgaming supplies slots to dozens of online casinos and has paid out the largest online jackpots in history.
Some of the new players in the industry like Amaya, Konami, and WMS have already made impacts as well.
We have WMS to thank for more complex slots due to the multi coin payouts and secondary bonus features that they introduced.
Despite launching in 2014, Amaya has already become the world's biggest online gaming company. It'll be interesting to see what lies in their future after expanding so rapidly.
Konami is a newer slots company, but based on their long history of success with video games I expect them to continue doing well with slots.
