What Technology is Powering Online Slots?

Online casinos and other gambling sites have become incredibly popular over the last decade. People love the convenience of being able to play their favorite slots and other games without leaving the sofa. But have you ever wondered what technology is powering these games? 

Technology Improved

Slot machines were the first technological jump from the one-armed bandit, and over the years they have become increasingly sophisticated. Bringing them online meant that game providers had to ensure that every feature worked as it does in the real world, and for them to be appealing graphics needed to be high end as well. Clearly, they have done an excellent job as online slots are the most popular casino type games on the Internet, and all around the world, there are millions of people playing throughout the day.  It is similar to standard console gaming technology and you will be aware how much this has improved from the initial games like Pacman and tennis to the modern virtual and augmented reality games on offer today.

Outstanding Graphics

From bespoke software applications to complex programming languages such as HTML, Unity, and Twine the graphics are behind these games. Customers are looking for an all-immersive experience, and with technologies progressing at such a fast rate, they are enjoying the fruits of the programmer’s labour. We are also entering an era of virtual reality and augmented reality. Many casino games are already virtual reality enabled, meaning that the player wears a headset connected to the computer for a more immersive experience. It won’t be long before slots are available on this basis, and augmented reality brings the game into your location, again this is potentially a route that programmers might take to ensure that gamers have the best possible experience when playing online slots. The other consideration for game programmers is mobile technology. Statistics show that over 70% of people accessing casino games do so on a mobile phone so they have to ensure that they have outstanding graphics on a smaller screen. Most casinos offer specific apps that go with their games to ensure that you are getting the best possible experience and it is usually better to play through these then try and access the site through the mobile phone web browser.

Random Number Generators 

So, the primary technology behind a slot game is the random number generator. This is also the part that is highly regulated and tested to ensure that the casino is offering a game fairly. When the player spins the wheel a random number generator kicks in to determine which symbols it’s going to stop on. There is no memory on a random number generator so it cannot remember previous patterns; it is literally a stand-alone random event every time you spin the wheel. There are many different kinds of slot games, from progressive slots to more traditional slots and again the programming languages behind these tend to be things like Java, HTML5, CSS and others. The programmers want to ensure customers have a rapid response as no one wants to sit around waiting for a game to respond or endure painfully slow loading times. 

Multiplayer

There is just no stopping technology development, and multiplayer functionality is something that is increasingly popular across all genres of gaming. Slot games are available where you can play against other people, either by using virtual rooms or other technologies so you can grab your mates and have an online slot gaming session. Over time this is likely to move on, and potentially even become a cross-platform service So players can use a laptop, PlayStation, Xbox or whatever they prefer. 

Security 

Finally, the gaming companies behind slot games must ensure that they add security, the random number generator is there for fairness, and all data is encrypted using 128-bit SSL to ensure that hackers do not get in and tamper with things. This is the biggest issue for customers to watch out for, so if you’re looking to sign up with a new casino, you should make a few checks of your own to make sure that they are reliable. Most people can probably name some of the biggest casinos in the world, and many betting shops have now become online betting shops and casinos, so the main advice is to pick a site that you have heard of. Secondly, when you get onto the homepage scroll down to the bottom and look in the footer, you expect to see registration information including a registration number for the Gambling Commission in the country to which the software is originating. You should also check that they are licenced to operate in your country, in many cases you simply won’t be able to get on a site if it isn’t, but some do get through.