Aristocrat Slots & Online Casinos

Aristocrat Leisure Limited is the biggest and one the best game development companies in Australia. It also boasts of being one of the biggest slot machine manufactures in the world – only International Game Technology in the U.S produces more slot machines.

Its headquarters are located in Sydney, Australia and the global administrative division is also present in this location. Most of the research and development activities are also carried out in this locations. The company also has numerous centers all over the world and has its marketing and R&D offices in countries like Russia, Japan, the United States of America and South Africa.

It is one of the seasoned players in the gaming machine manufacturing industry with more than 50 years of experience in the industry. Unlike other major gaming machine manufacturers, Aristocrat Leisure Limited has remained relatively scandal free.

Aristocrat Company Foundations

Aristocrat Leisure Limited was founded by Leonard Ainsworth in 1933 and was originally known as Ainsworth Consolidated Industries. The latter company was founded by his father. Those days, the company produced only floor model-type equipment. An engineer from the company later realized that the machines could be easily converted into poker machines, which were much more lucrative. After the ban on gambling in the U.S in 1951, Ainsworth realized that the Australian gambling market was vastly untapped. This prompted him to start making new poker machines that were nothing like the existing ones produced by other companies. The company changed the face of the Australian gambling industry when it released the first multi-line, scattered payout poker machine named as “The Clubman”, in the year 1956.

Luckily, the state of New South Wales legalized poker machines in the same year and the company’s fortunes sky-rocketed. In the year 1960, the company entered the European markets and created a subsidiary to distribute its poker machines. Soon enough, the company captured the European game machine market as it produced highly innovative and technologically advanced machines.

More About Aristocrat : History / Background / Founders

The current CEO of the company is Jamie Odell and the company now boasts of having more than 2000 employees worldwide. The company aims to become the leading provider of gaming solutions worldwide and is known for their interesting poker machines. Apart from electronic gaming machines, the company manufactures electronic tables and various other gaming solutions and systems. Aristocrat is also one of the few gaming companies that accepts game ideas from the general public. Any interested individual can log on to the company website and submit new ideas for any kind of casino game. The company is technologically advanced and it recently obtained Gold Certified Partner status from the Microsoft Partner Program. This company has declared a Microsoft competency and this has improved the company’s expertise in various Microsoft technologies.

Entry into America and the Online Slot Game Revolution

The company entered the U.S only in 1964 through a sales agent. In the mid 60s, Ainsworth realized the potential of electronic machines and decided to start producing electronic machines instead of mechanical ones. The electronic machines helped the company fight off stiff competition from Bally in  Australia. After proving itself to be an industry innovator with advanced electronic game machines, the company decided to use video gaming technology in its slot machines. It went on to produce the first ever all electronic game known as “Wild West”, although this claim has been disputed. Tough competition and blocking tactics by International Gaming Technology, prevented the company from entering Nevada and the U.S in general. After charges of unfair monopolizing tactics against the company were dropped in Australia, it finally entered the U.S markets in late 1980s.

In 1994, founder and CEO – Leonard Ainsworth was diagnosed with cancer. This prompted him to hand over the business to his family members. A legal battle ensued after one of his sons did not agree with the conditions laid out and he later resigned from the company. Fortunately, Leonard Ainsworth’s cancer was cured and he went on to establish another successful gaming machine company known as Ainsworth Gaming Technology.

In the 1990s the company expanded its reach to countries like Peru, South Africa, Columbia and various other countries in South America. In the year 1996, the company went public with a listing in the Australian Stock Exchange and renamed itself as the Aristocrat Leisure Limited. The next year, the company faced tough challenges in the United States. It was unable to obtain licenses in Colorado, Mississippi and Missouri. It faced similar troubles even in its home state of New South Wales. In the end, it was forced to pay hefty fines to the state of Colorado.

The New Frontier

In the year 2000, the company moved into Japan. More importantly, the company was finally able to get permits to enter the famed Nevada state. It relocated its U.S headquarters to the gaming capital – Las Vegas, Nevada, and started acquiring other gaming machine manufacturers. In 2002, the company entered Russia after signing a deal with New York Lottery. A collapsed deal with a Colombian customer resulted in a huge drop in profits for the year 2003. Despite this incident, the company posted revenues of over AUD 1.1 billion in 2004. Recent years have seen the company face huge losses due to the US Subprime Crisis.

Innovative Products

Aristocrat Leisure Limited has a long list of innovative game machines that have revolutionized the industry. In 1956, it produced “The Clubman” – the first multi-line, scattered pay-out poker machine. In 1961, the company released a new and innovative poker machine design named “The Aristocrat Nevada” -  the enormous success of which prompted the name change of the company. In those days, this design was considered to be far ahead of its times. To stay abreast with the electronic revolution, the company launched the first ever electronics-based slot machine known as “Moon Money”, in the year 1965.

It also released the world’s first all-electronic game known as “Wild West” in the year 1979. Aristocrat went on to release the DACOM 5000 system that was an electronic player tracking and accounting system. The MK gaming system was unleashed in 1995, which helped the company expand into new markets. Despite financial and legal troubles; in the year 1997, the company launched its Hyperlink Gaming System that went on to gain a lot of success in the industry. To cater to developing markets in South America, Eastern Europe, etc., the company developed the innovative machine development division known as Jubilee. The company recently released the Outback Jack slot machine and various other attractive games. It has also created many mobile gaming applications that are compatible with the latest Apple devices in addition to slot machines for Macs.