Casinos have more slot machines than all of the other games combined. But unlike many casino games, the slots still have some secrets.

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Here’s a list of 15 slot machine secrets the casinos don’t want you to know about.

1. Slot placement isn’t random

Although casinos would like you to think that everything on the floor is placed in a completely random way for ease of access and aesthetics, this certainly isn’t the case.

Every square foot of the casino is analyzed, measured, and reported on by the casino gaming department. Traffic patterns are monitored and value is placed on certain areas of the casino to determine which slots or games to place in that area.

Usually, the highest yield slots are placed in the most popular locations in the casino. On top of this, the most popular slots are also placed in these areas to attract players into the casino to play.

So now you know that those slots that are most prominent and visible are the ones that make the most money for the casino, which means they’re also the most disadvantageous for the player. Head towards the back of the casino next time you want to play slot machines to find a better value.

2. Some slots pay out more than others

Not all slot machines are created equal, and this means they all don’t pay out at the same rate.

Generally speaking, video slots pay out less than classic reel slots. This is because reel slots are cheaper to run and maintain, and aren’t as appealing to the player as the video slot.

Video slots are now extravagant and have pop-culture themes, which attracts more players. Because of this, the casinos can dial down the payout rate.

Alternatively, the classic slots aren’t as popular or appealing anymore so the casinos will dial up the payout rate to attract more players, and subsequently keep you at the slot longer. I suggest you do a bit of searching on the internet about slot payout rates as this information is widely available, particularly for popular gaming locations.

3. The slots club doesn’t exist to reward you

This is one of the biggest cons in the gambling industry. You know how the casinos promote themselves as giving back to the player and rewarding you for your play? This is all a lie.

Now, I’m not saying you won’t get some free play credits, access to promotions, and other comps for being a part of the slot or player’s club, but this isn’t why it exists. It exists to provide the casino marketing department with player data so that they can attract and retain you as a customer.

Slot

Yes, that’s right, all the free money and comps you get out of the casino are from the marketing department. They will analyze your play, movement, likes, dislikes, and betting patterns to determine how best to market themselves to you so that you return.

The slots club is a powerful marketing tool, and while it’s always a good idea to join and use your card whenever you play, don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is all done to reward you.

4. You can’t win at slots in the long run

People do win at slots all the time. They have big wins and small wins; the problem is that on a long enough timeline it’s impossible to win.

Slots are manufactured and programmed in a way to ensure that they only pay back a certain percentage of the money that’s placed into them by players. Usually, this is in the range of 70-90% but it can be far worse or better depending on where you’re playing.

No one would ever play if you didn’t win from time to time, so this is also built into the machines. Some casinos don’t want you to know this and in some US states, they don’t even have to tell you what the payout rate is. Fortunately, there are many states that do provide it to players, and I highly recommend taking advantage of that information.

Although it’s pretty common these days for players to know that you can’t win in the long run, some still don’t know, and those that are oblivious to this fact are loved by casinos.

5. Max betting is the best option

This one may seem counter-intuitive but it’s true. On most slots, max betting activates all the bonuses and jackpots and increases your odds of getting lucky and winning, which makes it the best option for players.

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Although it doesn’t make too much of a difference, it still creates more favorable conditions for the player. The casinos don’t want you to know this because they want you to bet small and more often at a worse payout rate, which makes them more money in the long run.

One thing you certainly don’t want to do though is max-bet above your bankroll and burn through more money than you intended to. Playing more than you can afford to lose is playing right into the casino’s hands. If you can’t afford the max bet on a slot then drop down in denominations or move to a machine where the max bet is smaller and works within your bankroll.

6. Class 2 slots aren’t really slots at all

Sometimes you’ll come across slot machines that are classified as class 2 slots. These are usually found on native Indian reservations or racinos in the United States.

These aren’t traditional slots like what you would find in Las Vegas. Vegas slots are Class 3 slots and are proper slot machine games.

Class 2 slots are actually pre-programmed bingo games which present a slot face for entertainment purposes. Class 3 slots are usually illegal in the jurisdictions that have these slots bingo games, so game manufacturers and casinos combined their forces to come up with this alternative.

Sometimes you’ll see a small bingo card on the bottom corner of the screen which will straight away tell you that this is a class 2 slot machine. So, be warned, these machines are not slots at all and you’ll be effectively playing computer bingo when you start spinning on these.

7. Video slots pay out less than classic slots

Big fancy video slots will almost always pay out less than classic reel slots. This is because of the fact they’re more entertaining, draw more players and action, and cost the casinos a lot more to run and maintain.

These big machines often take up two to three times the amount of space compared to classic slots and tend to cost the casinos a lot more to keep them running. In order to maximize profits, the casinos will then dial down the payout rate on these machines so they still make enough money on them.

Immersive video slots are a huge moneymaker for the casino, so don’t go in thinking you have the same chance of winning on these compared to traditional old school slots. If you’re looking for better chances to win on slot machines, then stick to the classic slots.

8. Slots are completely random

Casinos don’t want you to know this, but slot machines are completely random in nature. Although they are weighted to pay out at a certain rate, this is still in line with the randomness of results that a slot will produce.

Each spin is completely independent of the previous spin. As an example, if you were to win the jackpot on one spin, then the likelihood of winning the jackpot on the next spin is exactly the same. No previous events impact future events. This isn’t how they work.

Casinos don’t want you to know this because they want you to think slots are “hot” or “cold”, because that will cloud your judgment in respect to how much you play and gamble. This works out better for them in the long run so they are happy for these myths to grow and spread.

9. All of your play is tracked

From the moment you sit down at a slot and enter your player card and cash, every movement you make is tracked automatically by the casino. Slot machines are now networked and have sophisticated hardware and software to track everything you do.

This information is collected, analyzed, and insight reports are developed and delivered to the casino marketing department so they can work out the best possible way to market their casino and slots to you so that you keep coming back and play more. If you don’t want your play tracked then simply don’t use your player’s card, but then you won’t get any casino comps.

In the near future, if it’s not being used already, casino marketing departments will start using security infrastructure to monitor and track your play irrespective of whether you use your card or not. Facial recognition programs will detect you, associate you with a player’s card or create a new player account and track everything you do on a video feed.

This is a bit scary and it shows the lengths casinos will go to. If you play online, everything is tracked under your player account, so it’s easier for online casinos to monitor what you do in this respect.

10. Payout tickets are more likely to be put back into a machine

Over the past 20 years, casinos have slowly phased out cash payouts at slots. These days you’ll likely receive a ticket when you cash out, which you then must take to a cash-out machine or the cage to exchange for cash.

While the casinos will claim this is for your convenience, one of the main reasons they’ve made this change is to disassociate you from the fact you’re holding money. This is similar to what they do with chips on table games.

Psychological studies have proven that people are far more likely to gamble more with a ticket or chips, as opposed to cash. So don’t be fooled into placing your ticket into another slot on the way to cashing out, they’ve done this on purpose. I’d recommend that you always cash the tickets out for cash every time, instead of keeping it for play later.

11. Slot arms don’t exist as much anymore because they slow down play

Back in the day, pretty much every slot machine had an arm, or lever, that you pull to activate the spin. These days it’s much harder to find machines that have these.

While there are a few reasons for this, the main reason and the one the casinos don’t want you to know is because using a lever is much slower when compared to pressing a button. Casinos want you to be playing as quickly as possible when it comes to slots because the more you spin the more the odds move in their favor.

So by having buttons instead of levers the game moves a lot faster. Some may even say they’ve removed the lever so people don’t refer to slot machines as one-armed bandits anymore, but that may just be here-say.

12. Games are designed to be played as fast as possible

As we touched on in the previous secret, casinos want you to play whatever game you’re on as quickly as possible. While one of the main measurements on a slot is the time spent playing, they also want you to play as quickly as possible.

This increases the yield on the machine for the casino, meaning they make more money. Consider this, if you have a bank of widely popular slots which many people want to play, and it takes 20 seconds per spin, that’s quite a lot of time.

If a spin takes five seconds then you’re getting four times the amount of play on that machine which results in much more money passing through. So, all the time the casinos are trying to think of ways to make games happen much faster. They don’t want you playing slowly, so make sure you take your time next time you sit down at a slot. After all, the more time you play the more entertainment value you get.

13. Slot sounds and graphics are designed to make you feel happy

One thing that casinos certainly don’t want you to know about is the fact that slot machine manufacturers have teams of psychologists and researchers that provide advice on what sounds, colors, movements and graphics to use in games in order to make the player feel as happy as possible.

This is both good and bad. Firstly, it’s good if you’re playing for entertainment’s sake and know your limits when it comes to how much money you’re willing to play with. If this is the case then why not play a game that’s designed to make you feel happy.

Secondly, it’s bad when it comes to problem gamblers who don’t know when to stop and are chasing that happy feeling that the games give them. So this is a two-way street; that’s for sure. Casinos probably don’t want you to know this because it isn’t a great look.

14. Sometimes a win isn’t a win

One recent trend on slots is to play a jingle and show an animation showing that a player has had a win; this used to be a good thing and it meant you were making a profit, but not so much these days.

Much to the ire of lawmakers and the regulators, slot machines now play this jingle and imply a win, even when the spin results in less money won than you actually wagered on that spin in the first place. So this is essentially a loss and it’s trying to trick the player into thinking that they won.

Regulators are trying to have this outlawed but it will take some time. So, next time you’re playing don’t be fooled by the animation and sounds and the on-screen advice that says you’ve had a win. Make sure you check how much you ‘won’ when compared to how much you bet, before you celebrate.

15. Major progressive jackpots are played across multiple venues

Have you ever walked past a progressive jackpot slot machine and stared in awe at the huge jackpot which is currently available and is running into the millions of dollars?

If so, then you may not be aware that these slots are actually linked nationwide and the jackpot is played across thousands and thousands of machines and the casinos actually have no part in this prize.

Casinos don’t want you to know this of course; they want you to think that it’s just that machine so that you sit down and play and spin away thinking that you’re the only person who could possibly win that prize at that time.

These major progressive jackpot machines actually take a small cut from each bet you make and divert it to the major jackpot. So you should never play on one of these unless your ultimate goal is to win the life-changing money, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

Conclusion

Casinos are designed to make money just like any business. The slot machines are a big piece of the profit puzzle so the casinos do everything they can to make them more profitable.

Now that you know these 15 slot machine secrets the casinos don’t want you to know you can gamble as an informed player. If you love slots there’s no reason to stop playing, but you should know these secrets before you play again.

I’m planning to include some reviews of various gambling machines here soon, so I thought I’d start with a look at some of the slot machine manufacturers and their products. There was a time, not long ago, when such a list would be short. But with the advent of internet casinos, the list of slot machine companies grows longer every day.

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Of course, depending on where you live, you might be searching for such information using a phrase like “fruit machine suppliers” or “gaming companies.” Such a list should (and does) include old slot machine brands like IGT (International Game Technologies) and internet casino software vendors like Microgaming and Playtech.

As I create more posts about related subjects, I’ll update this page with links to manufacturer-specific lists of games and reviews of their overall offerings.

I know that a lot of sites in this space try to offer as complete a resource as possible, but please remember that I’m just one guy with a blog. I don’t have an army of freelance writers working for me, and even if I did, there are so many slot machine games from so many different providers that it would be almost impossible to keep up with them all.

But if I’ve left out your favorite slot machine manufacturer, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list.

Slot Machine Manufacturers List – Updated 2020

And here’s the list of slot machine manufacturers:

1. Ainsworth Game Technology

Ainsworth Game Technology is one of the oldest companies on my list of slot machine manufacturers. They’ve been in business for 20+ years. Ainsworth is an Australian company, and if you know anything about gambling in Australia, you know how popular slots are there. They call them “pokies,” though, which is an abbreviation for “poker machines.”

And some of Ainsworth’s most recent game additions include:

  • Action Dragons
  • Big Hit Bonanza
  • Pac-Man Wild Edition

2. Amatic Industries

Amatic Industries has been in business for over a quarter of a century now. Besides slot machines, they make video lottery terminals and video roulette games. They have a huge selection of slot machine brands in their stable, too, including some of the following:

  • Games Bond (Yes, this is a “James Bond” knockoff.)
  • GrandX (A “Wheel of Fortune” lookalike.)
  • Vampires (A simple enough theme and title, no?)

3. Amaya Gaming

Amaya Gaming is defunct now. It’s part of The Stars Group, the company which owns PokerStars. I include it here under its original name because I think some online users still look for games from Amaya Gaming. They offer lots of cute games, including:

  • Barn Yard Boogie
  • Jenga
  • Street Fighter II

4. Aristocrat Gaming Technology

Aristocrat Gaming Technology is another Australian “poker machine” vendor. They’e recently gotten their hands on some major intellectual property, too, and they offer games like:

  • Batman Classic TV Series
  • The Big Bang Theory
  • Britney
  • Game of Thrones
  • Sons of Anarchy
  • The Walking Dead

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5. Ash Gaming

Ash Gaming used to be a big deal, now they’re a part of Playtech. As part of that group, they have extensive licensed properties to create games about. Their most famous, though, is probably Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

6. Bally Technologies

Bally Technologies is now a subsidiary of SG Gaming (Scientific Games). The company has been around forever. Not only do they make slot machines, but they used to be one of the biggest pinball machine companies in the world, too. Some of their most well-known brands include:

  • James Bond
  • Monopoly
  • Willy Wonka

7. Barcrest Gaming

Barcrest Gaming–like Bally Technologies– is also now a subsidiary of SG Gaming (Scientific Games). If you’re a real slot machine aficionado, you might recognize the names of some of their games:

  • Deja Vu Diamonds
  • Flippin’ Out
  • Psycho Cash Beast
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8. Betsoft Gaming

Betsoft Gaming specializes in online gambling games, especially mobile friendly slots and 3D games. Here are some of their titles:

  • Dragon Kings
  • The Golden Owl of Athena
  • Ogre Empire (which has a suspicious resemblance to the movie Shrek)

9. Blueprint Gaming

Blueprint Gaming is based in the United Kingdom. Most of their fruit machines can be found on casino floors there or in Germany and Italy. Here’s a sample of their titles:

  • Fairy Fortunes
  • Slots o’ Gold
  • Wild Antics

10. Cadillac Jack

Cadillac Jack was a subsidiary of Amaya Gaming, which is now wholly owned by The Stars Group.

11. EGT Interactive (Euro Games Technology)

EGT Interactive specializes in video slots. You can find a lot of their games at various sports book sites that also offer casino games. They offer over 150 different games, including titles like:

  • 40 Ultra Respin
  • Crazy Bugs II
  • More Like a Diamond

12. Endemol Shine Gaming

Endemol Shine Gaming specializes in both online and brick and mortar gambling games. Some of their best-known properties belong to the licensed television game show genre. Some examples include:

  • Deal or No Deal
  • MasterChef
  • Million Pound Drop

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13. Fremantle Media

Fremantle Media is one of the more unusual listings on this page, because they don’t exactly design or manufacture slot machine games. They own several large television brands, which they aggressively promote through multiple channels–including slot machines. If you’re playing one of these slots, Fremantle Media had a lot to do with it:

  • American Idol
  • Blockbusters
  • The X Factor

14. The Gamesys Group

The Gamesys Group does slots and bingo games. Some of the better known brands in their stable include:

  • The Godfather
  • Guardians of Fire & Ice
  • Secrets of the Phoenix

15. Heiwa Corporation

Heiwa Corporation is a publicly-traded Japanese corporation that specializes in pachinko and pachislo machine manufacture.

16. High 5 Games

High 5 Games creates both internet-based and land-based slot machine games, some of which are popular. They use HTML 5 for their online slot machines. Their most famous games include:

  • Cats
  • Golden Goddess
  • Photographing Fairies

17. IGT (International Game Technology)

IGT is far and away the largest slot machine company in the world. They’re everywhere. The most popular gambling machines in the casino are the product of International Game Technology. Just a few of their big names include:

  • Family Guy
  • Jeopardy
  • Siberian Storm
  • Wheel of Fortune

18. Konami Gaming

Konami Gaming is the maker of the following slot machines:

  • Dungeons and Dragons
  • Flaming Red Diamonds
  • Year of Best Wishes

19. Mazooma Interactive Games

Mazooma Interactive Games is a UK game company that specializes in online games. They’re now a subsidiary of Novomatic.

20. Microgaming

Microgaming was the first large online casino software provider. They’re best-known for the wide variety of their online progressive jackpots. Some of their most famous brands include:

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  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Halloween
  • Playboy
  • Terminator 2

I’ve written about Microgaming before, here.

21. NetEnt

NetEnt is another publicly-traded company that specializes in online games. They’re responsible for, among other things, the Jumanji slot machine game.

22. NewGin Co. Ltd.

NewGin Co. Ltd. is another Japanese manufacturer of pachinko and pachislo machines.

23. NextGen Gaming

NextGen Gaming serves both online and land-based casinos. They offer some really cool titles, including:

  • King Kong Fury
  • Samurai Split
  • Wonder Hounds

24. Novomatic Gaming

The name “Novomatic” always reminds me of the Steve Goodman song, Vegematic.

But that song has nothing to do with the company, though. Novomatic Gaming is probably the biggest European slot machine maker there is, in fact.

Some of their games you’ve probably heard of include:

  • From Dusk Til Dawn
  • Stories of Infinity
  • Treasure of Tut

25. Ortiz Gaming

Ortiz Gaming specializes in Class II and Class III slot machines, especially when it comes to bingo technology. And their games are OVERTLY bingo-based, too:

  • Allstar Bingo
  • Rodeo Bingo
  • Multimania

26. Playtech

Playtech is another online game designer and creator, and, like Microgaming, they’re publicly traded. They also don’t allow their licensees to accept real money players from the United States. Some of their better known games include:

  • Ace Ventura
  • American Dad
  • Batman Begins
  • Grease
  • Justice League
  • Pink Panther
  • Rocky

27. Realtime Gaming

Realtime Gaming (RTG) is probably the biggest online casino game vendor that still serves U.S. audiences — at least the audiences that don’t live in states with legal, regulated online casinos. (There are 47 states like that.) As a result, you’ve probably never heard of most of their games unless you’re a devoted internet gambler.

My favorite of their games is It’s Good to Be Bad, but I’m old school.

28. SG Gaming (Scientific Games)

Scientific Games is headquartered in Las Vegas. They own Bally now, and they own Shuffle Master. And they also own WMS Gaming. Their most well-known game is probably Monopoly slot machines.

29. Universal Entertainment Corporation

Universal Entertainment Corporation is another pachinko and pachislo manufacturer.

30. VGT (Video Gaming Technologies) – One of My Favorite Slot Machine Manufacturers

VGT is one of the biggest names in the Oklahoma gambling market, and they specialize in bingo-based slot machine games.

31. WMS Gaming

WMS Gaming is now a subsidiary of Scientific Games. So see that entry above.

32. Apollo Games (just added!)

Apollo Games has a full profile on our site. Click the link for full details.

The Final Word about Slot Machine Manufacturers

The brand names in the slot machine manufacturers category are many, but, of course, IGT (International Game Technology) towers above the rest like Walmart towers over other retail establishments. The list above gets longer when you account for the companies making online slot machine games, too.

If you have any comments about the games available from these corporations, I’d enjoy hearing them. I’m human and make mistakes, so if you leave a comment pointing one out, I’ll update this post with corrections (and probably even give you credit.)