In the modern day, reel tilt refers to a discrepancy between digital reel displays and the outcome of the Random Number Generator. The term “reel tilt” stems from when slots were primarily played with mechanical machines and physical reels. It’s a term meant to describe the difference between what the player sees and the outcome.
While it’s not nearly as common today as it used to be when physical machines could wear down, it’s something that still happens today and something you need to be aware of.
Causes and Technical Explanation
With old mechanical machines, reel tilt resulted from worn-out gears, dirty pieces within the machine, and damage done to the machine. There would be instances of reels landing in the incorrect spot. There could be instances where a jackpot might appear, but the internal machine was a simple payline payout. This leads to customer confusion and anger in the case of “losing” a jackpot.
It’s a bit more complex with digital machines, but it’s mostly due to software glitches or synching errors between what’s seen on the screen and what RNG. These can be even more problematic because there’s nothing to point to other than a software glitch. A player could visually see a broken component in a mechanical machine. That’s not the case with digital machines. RNGs are an algorithm that’s programmed to randomly produce a series of numbers, and when a player spins, it stops. This can be a problem because synchronization is dealing with latency issues between the gaming device and the RNG server.
Impact of Reel Tilt on Gameplay
When reel tilt occurs, this can derail the playing experience. Spins could stop, there could be lights flashing out of sorts, error messages mid-spin, and more. As mentioned, you can see that you won a jackpot, but you receive a small payout from a regular payline win. Conversely, if you receive a jackpot payout but it doesn’t appear on screen, the casino could nullify this. When this happens, the casino may need to shut down the machine, ending all play on it until a technician comes and repairs it.
There’s nothing worse than people thinking they won massive amounts of money only to find out it was reel tilt. Not only does this to frustration, but it’s led the some legitimate lawsuits from players against casinos.
Notable Cases and Legal Disputes
A famous case involved a Waterloo, Iowa, casino in 2015. It was ruled that they wouldn’t need to pay a $41 million jackpot. An 87-year-old woman bet a simple quarter on the machine, and the machine popped up with a message that read:
The reels have rolled your way! Bonus Award—$41797550.16.
After she and her daughter brought employees over, they ruled it was an error, and they wouldn’t have to pay. Instead, she won $1.85.
Another case earlier this year involved a woman named Roney Beal. She thought she won $2.5 million after hitting the $1.2 million jackpot, but also had a multiplier. This occurred at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“That’s when the sentences came up ‘tilted,’” she said. “When the man came over to talk to me, he said, ‘Lady, get it in your head, you won nothing.’”
The employee then asked her to roll it off and she refused. Her lawyer argued that the casino employee touching the machine after the reel tilt was tampering with evidence.
The casino offered her $350 in exchange and refused to pay the jackpot.
This is common, and yes, casinos have policies against reel tilt. This could read, for example, “malfunction voids all pays and plays.”
In some lawsuits, the players and casinos have reached settlements, but it’s incredibly rare for courts to rule against the casino regarding the full payment.
In 2000, there was one incident in which a player did get their money. Jacques Bezou took Harrah Casino in New Orleans, Louisiana, and IGT, the game developer, to court. The jury and an appellate judge sided with Bezou, and IGT was responsible for the $1.3 million jackpot.
Another case came in 2006 where Garrett Griggs brought Harrah Casino and IG to court and a ruling was provided on March 22, 2006. In this case, a slot engineer, James Edward Oatman testified.
Here’s what he said, according to court documents:
Mr. Oatman said that when the reels were spinning before the generation of the random numbers for the game being played, a problem with the third reel was discovered by the machine. The machine was programmed not to select random numbers until the tilt was cleared. Thus, Mr. Oatman concluded that there had been no random number generation, and no jackpot could have been won.
Preventing and Resolving Reel Tilt
Casinos can prevent reel tilt by regularly maintaining the machine and the technology. Most casinos do that, but sometimes it slips through the cracks. They can also regularly upgrade their RNG software to ensure a better synch between the machine and the software.
When reel tilt occurs, here’s what the casinos do:
Shutdown: The casino immediately shuts it down to prevent anyone else from playing.
Inspect: The casino has an in-house technician check out the machine to determine the cause of the reel tilt.
Repair: After pinpointing the issue, the technician fixes it and recalibrates the machine, and the casino puts the game back online for people to play.
It may be tough to reconcile with as a player, but this is real, and it does happen. I’ve personally never had this happen to me, but I can understand the emotional whiplash of feeling like you won only to find out you didn’t. Try to work something out with the casino if the situation is a true reel tilt.
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Industry Innovations and Future Trends
As technology advances, so too does the chance of software glitches. RNG technology that can integrate with the visual displays will help, but technology that can track and fix errors would assist with less downtime. If technology could recalibrate and re-synchronize machines overnight when a casino is closed, that would also be massively helpful.
Regulators in states with casinos play a massive role. Having laws in place for reel tilt protects the player and the casino. Some laws can also mandate that machines need to meet a specific technical standard that would also help reduce the risk of reel tilt.
Here are some other types of software that I could foresee leading the charge against reel tilt:
Blockchain: This technology will ensure transparent data records and make it easier to verify what happened.
5G: As this improves, so too does the risk of latency issues.
Quantum RNGs: These RNGs generate truly random numbers, which will reduce potential errors.
AI: This technology can detect errors and provide instant feedback.
Conclusion
Reel tilt is never a fun thing to deal with, but it’s a real issue that doesn’t happen in casinos. Being aware that this issue exists can set you up for a much more pleasant gaming experience and help you not feel like you won $40 million only to find out it was $1.85.
This is something that’s becoming less common over time and my hope is we eventually reach a place technologically where it no longer occurs so we can enjoy slots without interruptions or issues.
