WMS

WMS Gaming is a long-standing Chicago, Illinois casino and slot games, provider. It also develops video lottery terminals and online slot machines. WMS Gaming is owned by Scientific Games and is licensed to operate in multiple states in the United States.

WMS Gaming Review

WMS Gaming was formed in 1994, looking to penetrate the slots market. In 1996, they produced their debut online slot machine, Reel 'em In. This 20-pay line video slot machine soon became a fan favorite. The multiple bonus rounds, pay lines, multi-coins secondary bonus, and game jackpots keep players returning. Other hit games soon joined this popular slot release in Black Knight and Jackpot Party.

WMS is well-known for producing many film-based and television-themed slots, with Star Trek and Willy Wonka Slots as examples. Most WMS games also come with exciting feature bonuses that attract players to play their games every time.

Their broad range of online slot machines offers plenty of big bonus rounds and features, including random gift packs, free spins, and win multipliers.

Brief History of WMS

Harry E. Williams founded the company as WMC in 1943 before it was renamed Williams Electronic Manufacturing Company in 1958. The company was again renamed in 1974 when it became Williams Electronics Inc.

After a couple of years, they produced several popular video arcade games and pinball games. In 1996, the WMS video game library got transferred to Midway Games, their video game subsidiary. As the arcade industry waned in the 1990s, the pinball business became unprofitable and got sold off around 2000.

By 2001, the company became well-known for producing 'participation' slot games, which saw them lease to casinos rather than selling them the games. These games are often linked between multiple casinos, so their progressive jackpots can quickly grow to massive amounts. These 'participation' slots included iconic branded slots, including Lord of the Rings, Men in Black, and the Monopoly Slots genre.

Funnily enough, in the history of WMS games, there was a glitch in some of its slots. This glitch gave players access to earn credit on some slot machines without paying them. However, in 2001, this malfunction got uncovered, and the company found a solution to the problem.

WMS Industries merged with Scientific Games in October 2013 and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. SG Games paid $1.5 billion to complete this deal, with WMS shareholders receiving $26.00 per share.