Bally Technologies is a slot machine manufacturing firm that was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Enterprise, Nevada. In August 2014, Scientific Games acquired Bally. Slots from the company include the Thrillions wide-area progressive jackpots, which were initially played on Betty Boop slots. Blondie and Popeye were added to the Thrillions network soon after.
Bally’s most recent slots innovations are its “Jumbo” cabinets, which are eight feet high and three feet wide. The top of the cabinets on these games provide animated displays and additional gaming options for their players. Bally focuses largely on providing slot machine games to traditional land-based casinos, but they make at least a couple dozen of their games available on the Internet.
Richard Haddrill is the CEO and President of Bally Technologies, and although the company is global, Las Vegas houses its headquarters. The employees of the company are scattered across several countries across the world, best known for their innovative skills that have helped enhance the experiences of the casino gaming realm. Bally Technologies now generates revenues over $9,000,000,000 thanks to some of its clients which include the leading casinos in Las Vegas.
Formation of the Company & Acquisitions
Bally Technologies has established itself as the prime gaming technology manufacturer on the planet, but it took years for the company to achieve the status it currently holds. It was founded by Raymond Moloney all the way back in 1932 and is the oldest manufacturer of slot machines in the world. Bally Manufacturing Corporation as it was initially called, was the parent company whose manufacturing division was called Bally Manufacturing. The manufacturing sector was mainly created to design Ballyhoo – a pinball game that went on to bring the company some remarkable profits and much success. Initially, the manufacturing division of Bally Corporation built a reputation for designing, developing and selling coin-based gaming machines before moving on to create slot machines for casinos.
Bally Technologies – the current company has not only a complicated but also a long history that includes Advanced Patent Technology – another company dedicated to the innovation of gaming technology. Alliance gaming as it was originally called, Advanced Patent Technology was created in September 1968. Bally Technologies is a product of the acquisition of Bally Gaming International Inc [a Bally Manufacturing division] by Alliance Gaming in 1996.
Bally Technologies’ Casino Applications for Mobile for Mobile Platform
The casino industry has been producing a good number of mobile applications recently, and Bally Technologies has emerged as the top producer. The Interactive division of the company develops all social, mobile, and internet initiatives. Android and iOS users can now take advantage of Bally’s offering and experience the thrills of casino gaming from the comfort of their home or when they’re on the move.
Thanks to the software used in manufacturing this game, players can use the same cards and earn the same bonus, points and comps. The system keeps a check on your gaming activity so that you have an enhanced gaming experience. Not only does it make it simpler for players to keep a track of their points balance as well as upcoming events, but the fact that these online points may be redeemed for credits at land-based casinos makes it very convenient for players whilst helping the casino maintain good relations with their clients.
Most Popular Games Developed by the Company
Bally Technologies have created some of the most entertaining and compelling games for players at casinos across the world. The company emphasizes games with peculiar features so as to engage players and keep them engrossed for long hours. The games Bally Technologies have on offer implements themes related to popular films, celebrities and several TV shows to make games look all the more attractive.
One such slot machine introduced in recent times is the Michael Jackson slots. This game has created a huge buzz among players who love a unique slots game. The Michael Jackson slots game has risen to fame because it features numerous songs by none other than the legend himself. Along with it come several exciting features like the U-Spin which makes you experience the game a lot more closely.
The Michael Jackson slot machine is not the only themed game which has risen to widespread popularity in recent times. A Titanic themed game has been widely accepted and loved as well. The game was eagerly awaited all around the world since the release date was announced and it did not disappoint on arrival. The game comprises of several clips of the movie and boasted dynamism and charisma.
Creating such interesting games only increases Bally Technologies’ brand image and its demand within the gaming sector. They provide value to the market in terms of quality and user experience. The company has added to its impressive product portfolio by creating Pawn Stars, a slot machine game based on a famous TV series so as to entertain players across the globe. Moreover, they have taken a different approach with a slot machine game called Beat the Heat. A distinctive adaptation of an older version, these games target players who would love to go back in time and relive the joy of playing it with some added features and quality graphics.
The easy accessibility of smartphones and tablets has definitely helped the overall growth of slots gaming. Players can play Bally Technologies’ games at their convenience. One such game is based on NASCAR, a game created to target motor-sports enthusiasts.
Betty Boop Slots
Younger readers might not remember Betty Boop, but they’re probably not the target audience for this slots game anyway. Max Fleischer, who is the famous cartoonist who drew Popeye and Superman during the golden age of animated movies, created the character Betty Boop in 1930. She’s an exaggerated version of a 1920s-era flapper and iconic image that’s probably pretty bizarre to a younger audience today. In spite of her age and era-specific iconography, she remains a hugely popular cartoon character.
You can actually find two different versions of Betty Boop slots:
- Betty Boop Love Meter
- Betty Boop Fortune Teller
Betty Boop Love Meter has 5 reels and 40 paylines. It’s a penny slots game with a relatively high hit percentage of 45.55%, which means that a player will see some kind of win on almost every other spin. Players can play as many as 300 coins per spin. The game also features a progressive jackpot.
Betty Boop Fortune Teller is part of Bally’s U-Spin slots line. It includes an interesting bonus game called the “Fortune Wheel”—probably a good move on the part of the manufacturers, as it brings to mind the immensely popular Wheel of Fortune slot machine game without being so similar as to infringe on their trademark. The game also features five more bonus games.
Blondie Slots
My mom loved Blondie, but she loved the rock band, not the iconic comic strip character that Bally’s slots game is based on. Like Betty Boop, Blondie was created in 1930, but she was originally a character in the Sunday funnies. Eventually, she got a shot at the big screen, too, but in the form of live-action movies. Chic Young created the comic strip and drew it until he died in 1973—that’s a 43-year career. His son now has creative control over the comic strip, which can still be found in the Sunday newspaper every week all over the world.
Blondie is, of course, married to Dagwood Bumstead—he’s probably most famous for his love of large sandwiches. (In fact, a “Dagwood” has become the colloquial name for a tall sandwich with lots of stuff in it.) Dagwood’s a silly character, and even though the comic strip is named “Blondie”, most of the plots are driven by Dagwood’s foolishness. Dagwood also loves to take naps on the couch.
The Blondie movie series was a long-running enterprise produced by Columbia Pictures. Between 1938 and 1950, Columbia released a whopping 28 Blondie movies. Arthur Lake starred as Dagwood in all of these films, and Penny Singleton starred as Blondie. Two television series followed one of which also starred Penny Singleton in the title role.
The slots game is based on the comic strip, not the movies or TV series. It features 5 reels and 25 paylines. It also has 3 bonus features. The bonus games and the symbols incorporate the major and minor characters from the comic strip, including Dagwood and his sandwiches, but also the mailman and Mr. Dithers, Dagwood’s boss. It’s a cute game and a welcome dose of nostalgia in most casinos.
Popeye Slots
Popeye the Sailor Man was originally a comic strip character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, but he’s probably better known as a cartoon character drawn by Max Fleischer, the creator of Betty Boop. If you’re detecting a nostalgic theme among Bally’s license slots games, you’re perceptive, because, like Betty Boop and Blondie, Popeye has been around since the 1930s.
Of course, Popeye has also been featured in comic books, arcade games, video games, and TV cartoons. Robert Altman even made a live-action film starring Robin Williams as Popeye. Luckily, the film version is not the basis for the slots game. (It wasn’t a very good movie.)
Popeye slots feature symbols based on the iconography of the cartoons and the comic strip. This includes characters like Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy, as well as cans of spinach (the key to Popeye’s super-human strength).
Other Games
Other slot machine games from Bally include the following:
- Blazing Hot Tournament
- Concentration
- Crystal Spider
- Dealicious
- Double Dragon
- ESKAY
- Gems & Rings
- Grease Pink Ladies
- Hee Haw
- Let’s Make a Deal
- Michael Jackson: King of Pop
- Pawn Stars
- Reel Money
- Shadow Prince
- Shadow Princess
- To Tell the Truth
- Triple 3X Loot
- Triple Rose
- ZZ Top Live from Texas
Great Features Make Great Games
Bally Technologies have a systematic game plan in order to be successful. They emphasize on introducing unique features which in turn escalates user experience. Over the years they have incorporated features such as U-spin, steppers and major progressives. These features have been widely accepted by players as they keep them entertained all throughout.
Progressive Jackpots, an exciting feature gives players the opportunity to gain huge amounts of credits. Million-dollar payouts are obtained through another feature called Millionaire 777.
A feature called Cash for Life rewards players with $1,000 each week for eternity. Another game called The Quarter Million $ slots give players a payout of $250,000.
U-Spin is a feature which initiates active participation among players with the use of touch screens. It makes players feel more involved in the game physically thereby enhancing the overall gaming experience. Unlike the automatic spin by the machine, touch screen encourages a player to spin the wheel at his/her own pace. Hence, it goes without saying that active participation has become an integral part of slot machine gaming over the years.
Bally Technologies have introduced Command Centre, a feature as unique as it can get. Command Centre gives them the opportunity to integrate additional features such as the iView and iDeck. Command Centre monitors additional features within a set which gives it the ability to apply them in any slot game thereby making each game flexible. Command Centre has the potential to come up with endless possibilities for each of their games which is one of the main reasons why Bally Technologies have been so efficient.
Conclusion
Bally has been around for a long time, but where they’re going from here is anyone’s guess. Chances are that their business operations will continue uninterrupted and unchanged, although the acquisition by Scientific Games might entail a name change at some point. Their unusual and quirky selection of brands to license and their willingness to innovate makes them one of the more interesting slot machine manufacturers in the industry.
Slots players also have access to a feature known as DM Tournaments, a news feed which updates them about current and future tournaments. Bally Technologies have incorporated this feature to enlighten players about the events in real time on casino floors.
Over the years, Bally Technologies have gained an appreciation for its designs and gaming experience. They have reacted positively to player necessities by developing user-friendly features for optimal gaming experiences. Their casino games can be played with real and fun money on smartphones as well as land-based casinos. Bally Technologies have provided their gamers with endless possibilities and options, thus building a strong reputation for itself.
