IGT Slots Online Free Games List Of The Most Popular
IGT’s Rapid Rise
International Game Technology, or IGT, didn’t get its start with slot machines. In fact, it wasn’t even called IGT. The company was started in 1975 under the name A-1 supply. The founder, William “Si” Redd was the head of distribution for the Nevada section of Bally’s. After resigning from his position, he quickly put his knowledge to use to market a new type of game for his new company.
Fortune 1 Draw Poker would form the foundation for IGT. This video poker machine attracted new audiences who previously avoided slots. It quickly drew in players who were bored by contemporary slot machines as well as people who were just interested in a new way to play a few quick hands. It also proved to be friendly for beginners, since many non-gamblers who were intimated by slots paytables still knew basic poker hands. In 1981, after a brief time under the SIRCOMA name, A-1 Supply would officially become International Game Technology.
Their success with the new video poker market placed IGT in a prime position to expand into slot machine games. Their entry into the slots market would really take off in 1986. In this year, IGT revealed the thrilling Megabucks game. Megabucks utilized a then advanced network of phone lines to link machines at different casinos across Nevada to one central computer. The Megabucks machine would start the trend of wide-area progressive jackpots.
IGT Goes Global
As the company secured its new place in the American slot machine world, it also sought out new markets and researched new products. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, IGT spread across the globe by establishing offices in South America, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
This global approach let them get their foot in the door as new casinos opened worldwide. IGT didn’t neglect innovation though. With an eye on the newly emerging player management sector, IGT successfully acquired Electronic Data Technologies in 1984.
This company specialized in creating software to better track player activities so that casinos could provide more complex comps and rewards. This would prove to be a key part of IGT’s business in the future.
IGT’s main strategy was acquiring new companies to add to the ever-growing IGT family. IGT made two major buyouts in 1998. The company acquired Barcrest as a way to gain great access to the UK slots market. Barcrest would be a part of IGT until 2011 when it was sold to Scientific Games.
IGT also purchased Sodak Gaming to gain a new division to distribute machines in the growing market of Native American casinos. They would go on to buy Acres Gaming, Anchor Gaming and Silicon Gaming in the early 2000s, while adding new offices in Russia, China and Macau.
One of IGT’s biggest developments came in 2008, when they constructed a 6,500-square-foot research and development facility in Reno, Nevada. The massive location wasn’t just for IGT’s own team though. Interested third-party developers and potential technology partners could use the facility’s realistic casino setting to perform stress testing on software and programs. It affirmed the commitment to continuous improvement that was at the heart of IGT’s principles.
One big change would come in 2014 though, as IGT itself was acquired by Gtech. In a $6.4 billion merger, the major lottery operator joined with IGT’s established network. The IGT brand survived the merger since the newly merged management wished to keep the company’s legacy alive. While the company’s official headquarters is now in London, the same spirit still drives their development and distribution of great gaming machines.