Slots: Becoming Illegal

After the invention of the first slots, its popularity began to grow with the immense speed. Liberty Bell was created by Charles Fey in San Francisco, which meant this area was the first to experience the slot hysteria. Within a short time it spread all over the United States. That also goes for slot manufactures: the number of companies producing slots was pretty big. By 1909 there were about 3,200 slots produced. Slot machines were mainly placed in bars, saloons, cafes, shops, cigar stores. The thing is that half of them were unlicensed, which led to problems with law. The necessity of slots was questioned and the first was California, where in April 1909 all the slots were banned. That forced Slot Machine Companies to explore new markets and shift to the new areas like Detroit, Newark and Chicago.

Illegal Gambling Boom

Slots ban and the Prohibition led to the opening of the so-called speakeasies and illegal trade and gambling boom in the 1920s. Those were the places, where the alcohol was sold illegally. Such places became a so-called home for slots, if one wanted to play good old slots – the speakeasy was the place to do it.

Slots Are Illegal

In the years of Great Depression slots continued to be out of law and were often associated with mafia members and criminals. Finally, the US Government decided to make slot machines strictly illegal, firstly in New York State and later in the major part of the US territory.

World’s Gambling Destination

The World War I made the situation even worse: all the slot machine manufacturers were obliged to stop the production of any kinds of slots, even vending machines in order to produce weapons. In 1950 the shipment of slots to the states, where they were illegal, was banned. The only state that remained to be the only gambling zone was the state of Nevada.  From those times Las Vegas, Nevada, had fought for and won the right to be the great one and only gambling destination of the whole United States and the rest of the world.