Published by BARONMAG
You only need to take a look at a picture of yourself from five years ago to realise that times change quickly.
Whether it’s fashion, music, memes or pop culture, what’s popular changes on a seemingly minute-by-minute basis – and it’s no different for casino games. Ever since the first casinos opened, the popularity of certain games has risen and fallen as crazes catch on and fade away.
A prime example? Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, when published in 1953, featured James Bond’s squaring off against Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat. Fleming (correctly) believed that the game was sufficiently popular for the majority of readers to be able to play along with the game in their head.
By the time 2006’s Casino Royale movie was being written though, the screenwriters made the decision to change the game at the heart of the film. Rather than a nerve-wracking baccarat game, it was poker. Why? Because poker had replaced baccarat as the go-to competitive casino game in the 53 years between the book and latest screen version.
It’s been twelve years since that movie though and we’ve since witnessed another huge shift in casino game popularity – the move towards slots.
Today, slots are the biggest casino game going – both online and in real life. They’ve evolved, expanded and developed rapidly to match player expectations, but why exactly have slots become the casino game in the modern era? Here are just a few reasons.
Quick, Portable Fun
Nothing has changed the casino industry quite as much as the invention of the internet.
From an early hesitance to get involved in the world wide web to the huge number of mobile and web-based casino operators, casinos have enjoyed unparalleled success in the modern era.
That success has meant that more and more people are using their smartphones, tablets and laptops to play casino games on the go, dropping in for short bursts. It’s a format which suits slots perfectly, allowing anyone to spin between sips of coffee, wherever they are.
Free Spins
Getting customers through the (digital) door is the name of the game for modern online casino operators, and so incentivized sign-ups were born.
With your Canadian dollar deposits, you not only get the chance to win real cash at these casinos, but also increasingly hundreds of dollars in free money to spend in the casino and, often, hundreds of free spins too.
Those free spins have introduced millions of people who’ve never played slots to the game, and in the process won over plenty of admirers, many of whom have spread the gospel to their friends and family. If you’re looking for a new slot to make the most of those spins, you can click here to play Gates of Olympus, a game that has become a favourite among online players.
Slots are Simple
Unlike some casino games which take a comparatively long time to get to grips with, slots don’t require a tactician’s mind to master, all you need is a little luck and a willingness to give them a try.
Their inherent simplicity – matching rows of symbols – means that anyone can play them, dramatically lowering the barrier of entry for new players. It’s for this reason that as more people try online casino gaming, many begin with slots as a fun, simple way to dip their toes into the scene.
It’s for these reasons and many more that slots have risen quickly to the top. So, should we expect to see Bond playing slots in a forthcoming movie? We’ll have to wait and see.