All of these featured fruit symbols, including cherries, oranges, apples, and more.Ī lot of these also included the “bar” symbol. Starting in the early 1900s, Industry Novelty was another company to start making slots, along with Mills Novelty Company and Bell Fruit Gum slot machines. We still have fruits within the games, but there are also many other types of symbols and mini-games, from wild symbols to full bonus games.īefore fruits, the games often used card symbols, which meant they had a lot in common with poker and other table and card games that people were a bit more familiar with, and certainly associated more with a chance to win money. There were even “scatter” symbols in the form of cherries, which won no matter where they appeared as long as there were three in a row. It is thought that the players would win flavored gum instead of money and that the prizes inspired the specific symbols. Those sweet treats came in the form of chewing gum. One famous example was a slot machine that had to convert from giving cash prizes to dispensing sweet treats when someone actually won. Some outlawed gambling altogether, and others prevented using imagery like the liberty bell. What we know for sure is that in the early 1900s, slot machines had become pretty popular, and some of the manufacturers faced the wrath of new gambling laws and legislation.

There are multiple theories about why fruits are used in these games.

So, where does this link between fruits and slot machines come from? Why do so many devices still use fruits today? Fruits are used as symbols that can be matched in a game and represent the different levels of prizes available. If you’ve previously used slot machines, you will know the relationship between slot games and fruits.

Mills bell fruit gum slot machine