If you like slot machines, then you probably know the Bally name. This iconic brand has had a presence in the American casino and gaming industry since the 1930s.
It provided the slot machine designs that changed the way people play, and the company had a hand in the historic spread of casinos across the United States.
You can even enjoy a few hits songs by Michael Jackson playing Bally’s Michael Jackson themed slot. You can even play many Bally slots online for free. Most online slot games only have five reels to spin – but Triple Cash Wheel offers players triple the fun by offering punters 15 reels to spin. Bier Haus is simple enough and easy to play in the wide range of playability options for online slot games. Free spins is as complicated as it gets in Bier Haus, but the real appeal of this game will be those who revere Germany, whether for ones heritage, home country, or just beer in general.
While Bally has had its ups and downs through several mergers and acquisitions, the brand survives to continue its mission of providing entertaining and innovative machines.
Where to play slots like Bally
Free to play Bally slots online
Most Popular Bally Slots
It shouldn’t be surprising that Bally has a large catalog of slots available, given their time in the industry. Many of their classic Atlantic City slot machines have been made into online games. These five favorites are a great place to start.
- Quick Hit Super Wheel Wild Red – This mouthful of a machine features 5 reels and 30 paylines along with a lot of features and bonuses. While the design is inspired by traditional slot machines, the gameplay is completely modern. Lucky players will get a chance to spin the Super Wheel to unlock instant winnings, multipliers, wilds or loaded free spins. There’s also a range of Quick Hit jackpots on the line for every spin.
- Triple Cash Wheel – Another machine that mixes a classic design with a lot of modern bells and whistles. This slot machine plays three separate games simultaneously for a total of 15 reels and 60 paylines. On top of the exciting base game, Triple Cash Wheel includes a big bonus game that lets players earn instant credits or free spins with big multipliers.
- Lucky Tree – A fun Asian-themed 5-reel slot machine game with 30 paylines and several bonus rounds. The titular Lucky Tree adds a little excitement to each spin, with the potential for a breeze to send extra wild spaces tumbling down onto the reels. Lucky Tree also features a free spin bonus round and a special pick bonus round, which lets players turn over mystery tiles to try and create matching sets of animals for big bonuses.
- Acorn Pixie – A beautiful slot machine that brings an enchanted forest and its pixie inhabitants to life. The 5-reel machine with 30 paylines includes a touch of magic, which can flip losing spins around with a lucky 2×2 cluster wild that can appear to fill gaps. The bonus round is based around an extended version of the game, with 6 rows to fill and permanent wild spaces that branch out from the bottom to help fill out the reels with winning paylines. Players can choose to skip the basic spins and simply pay to play a number of free spins in the bonus round.
- Fu Dao Le – A very popular Asian-themed slot machine that features numerous ways to win. This 5-reel game doesn’t use traditional paylines, instead it allows any one of 243 potential left-to-right combinations to trigger a win. The game also includes 4 Red Envelope progressive jackpots that can be won with a lucky spin or through the Match-3 bonus game. There are also free spin bonus rounds, multipliers, stacked wilds and mystery spaces.
Mobile Gaming – Bally Slot Apps
Players interested in Bally games should be happy to hear that their interest in technological innovations extends to making many of their games available for play on mobile devices. This includes all of the top 5 picks listed above. While Bally does not have a dedicated slot game app, players should be able to find their slots listed on several different apps for iOS and Android phones. Free apps usually provide some free coins each day with an option to buy more for anyone who wants to play a longer session. Locations that allow players to bet real money on online slots should be able to find Bally machines on casino apps.
In general, Bally online slot games should play well even on mobile devices. Their clean designs scale well with smaller screens and should be easy to read, although games that use expanded reels may get a little cramped during the bonus round. Certain features such as the U-Spin wheel may not be fully supported on mobile apps. Players may have to settle for just pushing a “spin” button instead of actually spinning the wheel. It should be a small price to pay for the convenience of playing these great games on-the-go or at home.
Bally’s Innovations & Features
Throughout the company’s history, Bally has been a leader in general slot machine innovation. Aside from their historic contributions, they continue to provide improvements such as larger screens in cabinets and faster software. These important technological developments have been accompanied by some fun gameplay innovations too.
Following the merger with Alliance Gaming, Bally’s slot design shifted to focus on providing an engaging and fun experience along with the thrill of gambling. Its primary competitor, IGT, felt that gamblers didn’t want more complicated systems.
This directly led to innovations such as their Thrillions system, a twist on classic linked progressive jackpots. Beginning with their classic Betty Boop, Popeye and Blondie themed machines, the rollout in 1999 put the focus on smaller jackpots that were triggered more frequently.
Running off of the same philosophy, players will probably notice the common Quick Hit feature on Bally slot games. This non-progressive jackpot system provides a full range of payouts with frequent minor pots and rarer, proper jackpots for the big strikes.
Bally hasn’t forgotten the joys of large community-linked payouts though. Players looking for larger more traditional progressive jackpots in modern machines can stick to the Red Envelope series, which includes fun games such as Fu Dao Le, Heavenly Riches and Super Rise of Ra.
The U-Spin bonus game is probably Bally’s most visible success. Starting with the Cash Spin slot machine, this eye-catching innovation provided a thrilling change to the typical bonus round format.
Lucky winners get to actually spin the digital wheel at the top of the machine for a chance to win large credit payouts, free games or even progressive jackpots. The real thrill comes from the built-in gesture control, which reacts to the speed and direction of the player’s swipe. The U-Spin wheel adds the fun of a game show to basic slots gameplay.
In general, players will see that Bally’s attention is focused on providing interesting and exciting bonuses. Bally slots can include large, expanding reels that provide more ways to win, or even simple money bag bonuses that let players pick one of three mystery bags with the chance of a big payout.
The introduction of the Buy A Bonus feature in the recently released Acorn Pixie machine clearly shows where future development is headed. The option for players to just pay for one last shot at the bonus round before they leave shows Bally’s commitment to a fun experience.
The Winding Tale of Bally
The actual Bally company began not as a slot machine company, but as a pinball developer. Raymond Moloney founded the Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1932 in Chicago. The name came from its first product, the Ballyhoo.
The Ballyhoo pinball game was an early coin-operated piece that filled bars across America. In 1936, Bally used its experience and connections to expand into the growing gambling industry by creating the Bally Baby, a small mechanical slot machine.
Bally would mostly cease production of gaming machines during World War II to provide manufacturing power for the war effort. This didn’t slow down their product development though, with their tall “Hi-Boy” model releasing after the end of the war in 1945. This iconic design, while very basic by modern standards, created a look that would inspire the one-armed bandit for decades. Raymond Moloney’s death in 1958 triggered a rough patch for the company, with Bally almost falling into bankruptcy before a buyout and revival in 1963.
The revival was built upon the release of Money Honey, an innovative electromechanical slot machine. Featuring an electric hopper, the machine was able to handle larger and more complex payouts than purely mechanical machines. This raised expectations for slots and set up Bally as a market leader. By the end of the 1960s, it was estimated that Bally controlled nearly 90% of the worldwide slot machine market.
The 1970s and 1980s would see Bally use its profits to grow into a large umbrella company. Bally built the Park Palace Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City in 1979 as its first foray into casino operation.
Its electronics division attempted to enter the home video game market with the ill-fated Bally Professional Arcade.
Their acquisition of Midway Manufacturing in the 1960s would bear fruit as it dominated the arcade and home video game markets through its distribution of hits like Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
By the end of the 1980s, Bally owned the Six Flags chain, a set of health and fitness clubs and multiple casinos. This expansion proved to be draining. The Bally parent company would begin to separate and sell off its diverse divisions in the early 1990s to avoid financial hardship.
The slot machine division, now a subsidiary branded as Bally Entertainment, would be acquired in 1996 by the Alliance Gaming Corporation.
Founded in 1968, Alliance had its own long storied history. It began as Advanced Patent Technology, with a focus on developing new electronics and medical products.
Starting in 1979, the company tried to enter the rapidly growing gambling industry by buying the United Coin Machine Company and developing the Colorado Belle casino near Las Vegas.
Its 1985 merger with Omega Gaming allowed it to enter the video slot market. The next decade would see more property development, several rebrandings and a few mergers until it settled as the Alliance Gaming Corporation in 1994.
The merger with Bally Entertainment was a somewhat messy affair. Alliance Gaming hoped to compete for space against the dominant IGT in the newly developing riverboat and Native American casinos by joining with the still powerful Bally in 1993.
Early negotiations failed though, as Bally Entertainment ultimately sought a merger with WMS Industries. After a few lawsuits and a hostile takeover attempt, Alliance Gaming won out in 1995 with the merger completing in 1996. Bally ultimately became a subsidiary called Bally Gaming and Systems.
Following the merger, Bally grew and adapted to the changing markets by innovating gameplay. They focused on building more entertaining machines and providing powerful systems for casinos.
In 2006, it would go through its final name change, with Alliance Gaming renaming themselves Bally Technologies. After 8 years, Bally Technologies would be bought out by Scientific Gaming in 2014.
Scientific Gaming made its mark on the gaming industry with innovations in instant lottery games, including development of online lotteries and a mobile gaming app for retail lottery games. Somewhat poetically, this brought Bally under the same umbrella as WMS, which had been also bought by Scientific Gaming.
The Bally legacy lives on today as a leading slot machine developer and brand within the Scientific Gaming powerhouse.
Baileys Free Slot Play Games
Free to Play Bally Slots Online
The Quick Hit slot machine series by Bally and Scientific Games is proof that an online slot doesn’t need to be complicated to be engaging. Capitalizing on a simple game design with which most slot players are already familiar, the Quick Hit slot game brings a classic feel to modern slot gaming.
Each game in the series features a five-reel layout with a number of paylines based on how many spots for symbols exist in each reel. Most commonly, there are three symbols on each reel, creating a game with the standard 30-payline structure.
Adding to the classic feel are many of the symbols that the Quick Hit casino games frequently use:
- Bells
- Cherries
- 7s
- Bar (single, double, and triple)
Wilds, which can count as any standard symbol and as their own unique symbol with their own paytables, are another characteristic of each game. The most consistently present symbol in the Quick Hit slot machine is its namesake — the “Quick Hit.” This symbol is responsible for most of the bigger possible payouts, including the jackpot.
It also doesn’t need to appear in any pattern or on any particular paylines. Simply having more of them appear anywhere will allow the player to climb the Quick Hit paytable ladder. The top of that ladder, typically requiring at least nine such symbols to appear across the five reels, is where a lucky player might find a jackpot.
With these commonalities in place, each Quick Hit game has a foundation upon which to build.
The Quick Hit Slots Online
There are a number of popular Quick Hit games. Each has its own unique features. These features are distinct enough for players to have a real choice between games. The following is a list of the most popular Quick Hit games in 2019 along with specifications and overall hit frequency.
Compare Quick Hit Slots - Payouts & Hit Frequency
| Name | Reels / Lines | Denominations | Class | Hit Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Hit Black & White Double Jackpot | 3/1 | $0.20- $1,000 | C3 | 32.85% |
| Quick Hit 5x Pay 10x Pay | 3/1 | $0.20- $1,000 | C3 | 32.85% |
| Quick Hit - 4 Titles | 3/9 | $0.05- $100 | C3 | 39.54% |
| Quick Hit (Original) | 5/20 | $0.01- $5 | C2 | |
| Quick Hit - Black & White Wild Jackpot | 5/30 | $0.01- $1,000 | C3 | 48.49% |
| Quick Hit - Black Gold Wild | 5/30 | $0.01- $1,000 | C3 | 48.49% |
| Quick Hit - Double Jackpot Triple Blazing 7s | 3/1 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | |
| Quick Hit - Amber Rays | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 48.49% |
| Quick Hit - Silver Rain | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 44.02% |
| Quick Hit - White Fire | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 31.51% |
| Quick Hit 24 Karat | 5/20 & 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C2 | |
| Quick Hit - Gold Storm | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 48.49% |
| Quick Hit - Starlight Fire | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 31.51% |
| Quick Hit - White Fire | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 35.27% |
| Quick Hit - Wild Red Jackpot | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 53.43% |
| Quick Hit - Golden Bell | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 44.02% |
| Quick Hit - Stars & Bars | 5/30 | $0.01- $0.10 | C3 | 44.02% |
| Quick Hit Black & White 7s Super Wheel | 3/27 | $0.01- $100 | C2 | |
| Quick Hit Black Gold 5x 10x Pay | 3/1 | $0.01- $1,000 | C3 | 33.93% |
| Quick Hit Diamond - White Fire | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 39.87% |
| Quick Hit Black Velvet | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | |
| Quick Hit Jungle | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | |
| Quick Hit Pro | 5/50 | $0.01 | C2 | 50% |
| Quick Hit Ultra Pays - Monkey's Fortune | 5/243 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | 39.87% |
| Super Quick Hit Playboy Sunset Sapphires | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 | |
| Super Quick Hit Playboy Midnight Diamonds | 5/30 | $0.01- $100 | C3 |
Quick Hit Platinum Slots
Quick Hit Platinum slots have three spots on each of its five reels (5×3). There are 30 possible paylines and all of the classic symbols. Hitting the jackpot with the Quick Hit symbol requires nine of them to appear and pays 2000x whatever the chosen cost of spinning was.
The Quick Hit Platinum symbol, obviously unique to this game, offers one of the biggest possible jackpots among any in the Quick Hit series. Getting all five of these symbols to appear across the five reels awards an astounding 5000x payout of the stake.
Quick Hit Black Gold Slots
Quick Hit Black Gold slot swaps in and out a couple of classic symbols (a “$” and a third Bar symbol in for the 77 and 777 symbols) but keeps the number of total standard symbols the same as Quick Hit Platinum.
It also changes the jackpot paytables slightly. This game offers up to 2500x the stake when nine “Quick Hit” symbols appear.
Quick Hit Pro Slots
Quick Hit Pro slot is the one exception to the 5×3-reel structure shared by the other games. Each spin shows four spots on each reel (5×4), giving this game 40 possible paylines. The total number of standard reel symbols in Quick Hit Pro is two more than in the other Quick Hit games. This is to compensate for the fact that 20 symbols appear on each spin rather than 15.
The Quick Hit jackpot paytables are also different. In this game, 11 Quick Hit symbols need to appear in order to hit a 1500x jackpot.
Quick Hit Cash Wheel Slots
Quick Hit Cash Wheel, like most of the other Quick Hit games, has a 5×3 reel structure and the same classic symbols. Other than a lower jackpot — nine Quick Hit symbols wins 1500x the stake — Quick Hit Cash Wheel’s main game is not very distinct from the other Quick Hit games.
It’s true each installment of the series doesn’t necessarily offer an entirely different experience in the main game. But the element that sets the Quick Hit series apart from other slot machine brands — its detailed and engaging bonus games — is the same thing that truly differentiates each game within the series from the rest.
Quick Hit Slots Bonus games
In addition to all the standard symbols, Quick Hits and wilds, each Quick Hit game has a symbol that triggers a unique bonus game. This symbol only appears on the second, third, and fourth reels and must appear on all three to trigger the start of the bonus game.
Quick Hit Platinum
When the bonus game begins, a grid of 20 tiles with question marks appears. Each tile randomly contains a specified number of free games that players can earn:
- 5
- 7
- 10
- 11
- 15
- 20
The player will continue to choose tiles until they have chosen three of the same tile. If the player chooses three “11 free games” tiles before three tiles of any other amount, for example, the bonus game will begin with 11 free spins.
In addition to the free spins, all bonus game spins are given a multiplier: 3x for the “20 free games” tiles and 2x for the others. This can make the “Quick Hit” jackpot extremely lucrative. Once the bonus game spins begin, it’s possible for the symbol that initially triggered the bonus game by appearing on reels two, three, and four to re-trigger the bonus game spins in the same capacity.
Quick Hit Black Gold
With this bonus game, an 18-tile grid of question marks appears. Instead of choosing how many free spins are earned (it’s always 10), the selected tiles will determine which of the possible four different games will be played. Quick Hit FEVER, Locking Wilds, 2x Pays, and 3x Pays are the possibilities. 2x Pays and 3x Pays simply provide a 2x or 3x multiplier for the 10 bonus game spins.
Locking Wilds causes any wild symbols that appear to be locked in for the remainder of the bonus game spins. A few wilds locked in on the board can really make it easy to hit some valuable winning combinations.
Quick Hit FEVER, like the name suggests, gives an opportunity for a truly special Quick Hit jackpot. In addition to an added amount of Quick Hit symbols on the reels, there’s an expanded paytable. Beyond the 2500x pay for nine “Quick Hit” symbols, there’s 5000x for 10 and 7500x for 11.
Quick Hit Pro
Real Casino Slots Free Play
Perhaps the most uncommon feature in the entire Quick Hit series is Pro’s bonus game. The game starts with 15 free spins and tallies all winning combinations as normal.
Instead of Quick Hit symbols, the bonus game has symbols that resemble a pinball. Each of these pinball symbols that appear can be collected and used in the second part of the bonus game — PROCHINKO.
In PROCHINKO (an obvious portmanteau of Pro and Pachinko) each ball is fired, one by one, into a Pachinko-like game where they end up in a slot indicating a multiplier, up to 5x. All multipliers earned are added together to create a final multiplier, up to 100x, that is applied to all winnings acquired during the 15 free bonus game spins.
Quick Hit Cash Wheel
A large wheel determines the winnings in this bonus game. It will be spun with a specified multiplier some number of times. First, a player selects from 21 tiles until they select three matching tiles. These tiles determine the number of spins of the large wheel, up to three. The tiles also determine the multiplier, either 1x or 2x.
The wheel has many small amounts but also has possible results of 10,000 units and 50,000 units.
Quick Hits: final thoughts
Due to the jackpot-style nature and heavy reliance on bonus game winnings, Quick Hit games can have an uncomfortably high level of volatility for some players.
Still, the series is a great choice for slot enthusiasts. A variety of classic-style games with the modern touch of innovative bonus games is a combination that could keep any slot player busy for hours.
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