IGT slots

Who makes IGT slots?

International Game Technology, or IGT, is one of the oldest names in slot machines. William ‘Si’ Redd started the business in 1975 as A-1 Supply; it was renamed Sircoma in 1978 and became IGT, listing on the stock market, in 1981. It is based in Las Vegas, and since 1 July 2025 its gaming business has been owned by funds managed by Apollo and combined with Everi, organised into Gaming, Digital and FinTech units.

Most studios on our online slot providers list started on the internet. IGT started with cabinets on casino floors and brought those games online later, which is why several of its online titles carry a release date marked “online”. If you are unsure how a games maker differs from a casino, read our short explainer on what a slot provider is.

How IGT changed the way slot machines work

Three pieces of IGT history explain features you see on every slot today.

Video slots

The first video slot machine was developed in 1976 by Fortune Coin, a Las Vegas company, using a modified 19-inch Sony Trinitron screen. In 1978 the company now known as IGT, then still called Sircoma, bought Fortune Coin and its video slot technology. Our page on the first video slot machines tells that story in full.

Virtual reels

In 1984 Norwegian mathematician Inge Telnaes received US patent 4,448,419 for using a random number generator to select reel stops from a larger set of virtual positions. IGT later bought the patent, which has since expired. With 256 virtual stops per reel, three reels give 256 × 256 × 256 = 16,777,216 combinations, far more than a physical reel strip allows. That is how a machine can offer a large top prize while keeping its odds under control; see virtual reels for a worked explanation.

Linked progressive jackpots

IGT’s Nevada Megabucks is described in its company history as the first wide-area progressive, with a $1 million base jackpot. Sources disagree on whether it was the first progressive of any kind: one Wikipedia article calls it that, while IGT’s own history entry makes the narrower wide-area claim. A progressive jackpot of $4,988,842.17, recorded on 1 February 1987, is listed as the first Megabucks win. Our Megabucks history and linked progressives pages explain both sides and the mechanics.

IGT timeline

The 2015 merger with GTECH is covered in Wikipedia’s history of IGT from 1975 to 2015 (opens in a new tab), and the later Everi and Apollo deal in the current International Game Technology article (opens in a new tab). The lottery business that was separated off took a different name.

IGT and UK slot machines

IGT’s strongest British link is Barcrest, the maker of many pub fruit machines and later of Rainbow Riches online. IGT owned Barcrest from 1998 until it sold the company to Scientific Games, now Light & Wonder, in 2011; see our page on Barcrest slots. The ticket-in, ticket-out systems now common in UK casinos and arcades also trace back partly to IGT’s EZ Pay, which completed a field trial at the Fiesta casino in Las Vegas on 29 September 2000 before Nevada approved it statewide. Wikipedia’s ticket-in, ticket-out entry (opens in a new tab) and our TITO explainer cover how it works.

Several IGT companies hold Gambling Commission accounts, including International Game Technology PLC (41794), IGT-UK Gaming Limited (64568) and IGT UK Interactive Limited (64570). Land-based machines in Britain sit in the categories set by law: a Category B1 casino machine allows up to £5 a spin and a £10,000 top prize (£20,000 when linked), while online slots fall outside those categories. Our guide to UK slot machine categories explains the rest.

Best-known IGT slots online and their RTP

These are the IGT games we hold checked figures for. Several started life in land-based casinos, which is why release dates are marked as online launches.

Breakdowns: Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds, Wolf Run, Pharaoh’s Fortune, Siberian Storm and the Fortune Coin slot, which shares its name with the 1970s video slot pioneer.

IGT slot mechanics: what to expect

IGT games tend to be steady rather than explosive. Cleopatra is the template: five reels, 20 lines and a free spins round where wins are tripled. Da Vinci Diamonds is known for its tumbling reels, where winning symbols disappear and new ones fall into place, a form of cascading reels. Siberian Storm counts wins in both directions across an unusual 3-4-5-4-3 shape, giving 720 ways; our page on win both ways explains how pay-both-ways counting adds combinations.

Egyptian themes dominate the best sellers. If you like that style, our guide to Egyptian slot machines compares several, and Cleopatra vs Book of Dead shows how IGT’s classic stands against a high-volatility rival.

IGT RTP, cost per spin and max win at UK stakes

IGT’s published RTPs are mostly a little under 96%. The cost of play follows directly: at £1 a spin, 100 spins stake £100, and the long-run average cost is the house edge in pounds. The max win columns use the UK online stake limits of £2 (ages 18–24) and £5 (25 and over). Treat them as ceilings that are very rarely reached; real sessions vary a lot either way, as our RTP explainer shows.

Siberian Storm’s RTP varies by version from 92.52% to 96%, so the same game can cost almost twice as much on average at one casino as at another. Our page on RTP variants explains why casinos pick different settings.

How to check an IGT slot’s settings

1. Open the game and tap the menu, help or ‘i’ icon.
2. Find the theoretical return or RTP line, which most games list in their rules section.
3. Compare it with the figure in our table to see which version the casino runs.
4. Read the paytable for the top symbol award and any max win limit.
5. Set your stake within the UK limit and a budget for the session before the first spin.

UK rules that shape IGT online slots

Since 31 October 2021, online slots offered in Great Britain must have no autoplay, a minimum spin time of 2.5 seconds, no turbo or slam-stop, no celebration of returns at or below the stake, and a visible balance and net position. Stakes are capped at £5 a spin for over-25s (from 9 April 2025) and £2 for 18–24s (from 21 May 2025); the stake limits page covers how casinos apply them. Slots at UK-licensed casinos are not supplied with a feature buy, and free demo play needs age verification first. You can confirm a supplier’s status on the Gambling Commission’s business register (opens in a new tab).

Are IGT slots worth playing?

Where to play IGT slots in the UK

IGT games appear in many UK casino lobbies, but titles come and go, so search the lobby for the game before signing up; we do not claim any partner below carries a particular IGT slot. Coral offers new players aged 18+ 100 free spins when they deposit and bet £10 on slots: 10p spins on selected games, accepted within 48 hours, valid for 7 days and with no wagering on winnings. Ladbrokes offers 18+ new customers who deposit and spend £10 on slots 50 free spins each day for 10 days, up to 500 in total, at 10p each on selected games and with no wagering. As Coral and Ladbrokes share an operator, check the terms before opening both.

PlayOJO offers 18+ new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each with a first deposit of £10 or more, paying winnings in cash with no wagering. Terms apply to each offer, and slots should be treated as paid entertainment with a likely cost, not a way to make money.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.