Slingo is a game with an extensive history almost as striking and unique as the game itself. Even though most will think it is a recent invention, it is not. The game was invented in the early 90s by a Retired gentleman named Sal Falciglia. He has turned out to be a producer of fantastic game content.
Slingo Concept and Making it Work
The Concept of Slingo was first spoken about on a plane trip back to the United States from France. It was initially conceptualised as being a game for Television. At that time, there were several popular TV Game shows. Wheel of Fortune ruled the ratings for game shows back then.
The idea of pairing Bingo & Slots took a lot of work. It also involved a Mexican Peso 5 Reel slot machine plus an idea hastily scribbled down at 2 am in the morning to realise the vision. That is an oversimplification as it was a Falciglia family enterprise that involved a Grandfather and Grandsons in working out the strategy of the Slingo game.
Computerizing Slingo & AOL
They say luck plays a part, and this is definitely where the Falciglia family got lucky. They hired a Computer Programmer who enabled it for the web and suggested they take the game to AOL. Remember them? AOL had a games area that Slingo dominated soon after launching on it.
The rest, as they say, is history. If luck plays a role, then indeed the hard work that went into making it a creative & entertaining game. International Gaming Technology got contacted next and quickly signed up for the Slingo game. This was based on the fact that the son of the Chairman of IGT at the time played the game and referred it to him. That’s where all the planning and strategy of making the game entertaining comes in useful.
In 1999 Slingo was launched as a Slot machine for the first time. It is also the first stage in what we see as the game’s suitability to partner with other gaming brands. The first of these was a link-up with the Wheel of Fortune game. Scratchcards launched next in partnership with Scientific Games.
What follows is a sale to a company and finally to a UK Gaming company named Gaming Realms which specialises in the creation and marketing of games online. The team behind Gaming Realms are vastly experienced in the United Kingdom, having previously launched brands like Foxy Bingo & Cheeky Bingo.
Gaming Realms Takes Slingo Mobile
Given the popularity of the hybrid game, the mere fact that you get multiple rounds to up your prize quotient and get extra chances to hit a more significant prize leaves us wondering why companies like IGT and Scientific Games did not snap up the rights to the game before Gaming Realms.
It might have to do with scale and that these giant gaming companies prefer to buy up a successful business, even if they have to pay a premium. Though they missed a trick with this one, Gaming Realms have picked up an absolute gem of a game here.
From licensing to buying the rights to Slingo in a short period demonstrates the popularity of the base game. Gaming Realms have taken it much further, though. The partnering with successful concepts and brands – even non-gaming ones continues. Britains Got Talent Slingo & Monopoly Slingo are an example of this.
Slingo players are in for a treat as we will get to share in an exciting, entertaining evolution of the game via Gaming Realms. Currently, there are over 30 variations of the game, with more to follow.
And Finally
The game’s inventor still plays the game every time he goes into his basement. That’s the kind of enjoyment that most people experience when they play it online and what makes the game of Slingo such a remarkable story.