Before slot machines were modernised and developers could create them to have all kinds of symbols to match the many different themes, they mainly consisted of fruit symbols. As a result, they became known as ‘fruit slot machines’.

But have you ever stopped to wonder why slot machines have fruit symbols like cherries on the reels? 

This King Casino blog post will explore why some slot machines use different fruits as symbols, which fruits are most popular, where they came from and their meaning.

Why Do Slot Machines Use Fruit?

The use of fruits in slot machines began in the early 1900s when cash-paying slot machines were banned or restricted in various cities across America due to gambling concerns. 

To mitigate this issue and avoid the discontinuation of slot machines altogether, the Industry Novelty Company created slot machines that dispensed gum instead of money. 

So, the reels were made to display fruit symbols representing the gum’s flavour, including watermelons, grapes and cherries. So, if players lined up cherries, they could receive a cherry flavoured gum.

Therefore, the fruit symbols started as a way to bypass these gambling regulations while still offering a fun form of entertainment.

What Fruits Are On a Slot Machine?

The fruit symbols in fruit slot machines typically consisted of cherries, grapes, watermelons, lemons, oranges and plums. These symbols have now become the iconic signs for classic fruit slot machines.

While modern slot machines have evolved and can have any type of symbol under the sun, to match the various modern themes they can now have, fruit slot machines are still a popular theme and genre amongst many slot players.

Where Do Slot Machine Symbols Come From?

The slot machine symbols date back to the creation of the one-armed bandit slots, which are mechanical slot machines operated by pulling a lever. However, these slots had symbols closer to poker than modern slots. For example, some symbols included diamonds, hearts and spades.

They would have reels like today’s slot games, but they would use card suits instead of symbols. Then, in the early 1900s, fruit symbols were introduced and stuck. 

While the card symbols slowly faded away, the Joker card remained, acting as one of the important symbols in slot machines, with most of them often being themed after the Joker.

Since the introduction of the fruit symbols to compliment the possible gum prizes, more symbols, such as golden bars and horseshoes, were introduced, and slot machines slowly transitioned from gum prizes back to cash prizes again.

Eventually, the development of the internet and the modernisation of slots led to the diverse and varied slot symbols we have today.

Slot Machine Symbols Meaning

In modern slot machines, symbols can have different meanings based on the game’s rules and the specific game’s theme. In addition, the symbols often carry different values with specific formation requirements. Some of these symbols have different and specific functions, and you can refer to the slots pay table for more information on them.

For example, the presence of Bonus or Scatter symbols in a slot machine may mean there is a potential to trigger the slot game’s bonus features. In contrast, Wild symbols often mean some symbols can be replaced to help potentially complete winning combinations.

However, sometimes, the symbols do not mean anything except being there to help you potentially create winning combinations, enjoy the game and can add to the randomness and unpredictability of the game.

Why Are There Cherries in Slots?

The presence of cherries in modern slots can be attributed to the classic fruit slot machines from the early 1900s. The cherries and other fruit symbols represented the type of flavour of gum you could win.

Cherries went on to become a bit more popular and were adapted to modern day slot games; hence, they can still appear in today’s slot games. They are now an iconic representation of classic slots.

Conclusion

The use of cherries in slot machines can be seen as an ode to classical fruit slot games. What began as a way to bypass gambling laws developed into the iconic symbol that can represent slot games with classic themes.

*All values (Bet Levels, Maximum Wins, etc.) mentioned in relation to these slot games are subject to change at any time.