Modern video games increasingly use mechanics inspired by slot machines and other gambling games. It’s inescapable in today’s market. Spinning reward wheels, flashing win animations and near miss mechanics are now often seen in free to play mobile games – and even triple A multiplayer titles now incorporate gambling and slot-like elements into their progression systems.
This, is the history behind how all that happened, what the trends are today and where this slots and gaming crossover might go in the future.
Gambling and gaming have always intersected to some extent. Some of the earliest videogames included attempts to recreate blackjack. However, it wasn’t until the development of loot boxes for in game cosmetics that gambling mechanics really got into mainstream gaming in the west.
One of the first big titles to use the concept was FIFA 09, although Asian RPG MapleStory was the first game to sell boxes of random in game loot in around 2003. This was inspired by Japanese gachapon collectibles and gacha games, which now often increasingly resemble slots.
One of the biggest video game developers in the world, Konami, originally started as a slot developer and still has a large slot division to this day.
Games like Overwatch, FIFA Ultimate Team and CS:GO all saw success with loot boxes in the mid 2010s. In some cases this included combining them with prize wheels and other progression mechanics.
Slot machines and online games have similar core appeal of random outcomes, variable rewards and animations and sound effects that enhance anticipation and near misses. Plus the potential of a super rare prize or big win, which can be clipped and shared on social media.
Another interesting trend from around this time was developers including casinos in their open world games. Rockstar did this (quite controversially) in GTA Online and in Red Dead 2, and Fallout New Vegas featured several fully playable casinos with old school slots as well as table games.
Most gamers know that free to play mobile games are actually bigger than the traditional big videogame business. But you might not know that social casino gaming (play money casino games basically) is also a massive business in its own right.
These games are often just slots at this point, although they diverge in some ways. For example, the variety of hold and win slots at social casinos is often just as extensive as it is at any traditional real money online casino, while the themes and other mechanics also have a lot of depth to them.
These social slot-style games are big business in the US today, and although many of them are very similar to existing slots that’s often kind of the point.
On the other hand, gaming elements are also being brought into online slots and physical machines. Progression elements, XP bars, unlockables, story driven slot games (there are some). These are all things you’ll find more often in slots today than you did 10 years ago.
However, not everyone agrees with all this gambling influence. Loot boxes caused a big stir around 10 years ago, and although still common today they’re still often a target of lawmakers and campaign groups. Many big titles have since moved to an unlockable battle pass model. However, freemium and mobile games still continue to use loot boxes as much as ever.
The modern attention economy increasingly does not differentiate between what the service, medium or product is. Just as you can retention hack books, YouTube videos and songs – you can swap near-miss animations between video games, casino gambling games and traditional games like chess or poker.
So expect continued advancements in any part of the gaming sector to bleed into others as people work out what people like on an ever more refined basis. Social casinos will also continue to grow, as it seems people just really like slot mechanics even without the possibility of winning real money.
On the other hand, overt gambling mechanics in other games may start to get even more pushback. So it is possible that the future could be in more hybrid systems such as tradeable cosmetics and marketplaces with real money transferability.
Don’t expect to see many big open world videogames take on casino gambling again either. It proved quite controversial for Rockstar in GTA Online so few developers since have really tried. It is possible GTA VI could include a casino, as it is set in Florida which is partly known for its popular and large scale tribal casinos.
But odds will be against you if you’re looking for a triple A title in 2026 with an actual playable casino in it. You will however, likely find some kind of slot inspired mechanic like near miss animations or spinning wheels or even the odd loot box. You can’t miss them.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
