A video slot displays its reels on a screen instead of on spinning physical drums. The result is chosen by an RNG and the reels are animation. Fortune Coin's machine of 1976 is usually cited as an early video slot.
Moving to a screen freed designers from the limits of mechanical reels. Video slots made it practical to have more reels and rows, many paylines or ways to win, animated bonus rounds and second-screen features. Online casinos, which appeared from the mid-1990s, are built entirely on video slots.
Most video slots today use a five-reel or larger grid, with themes, sound and features well beyond the classic fruit machine look. See our history page.