Cherries, lemons, BARs, lucky sevens — slot machine symbols are so familiar they’re cultural icons. But why these specific images? The answer involves anti-gambling laws, fruit-flavored chewing gum, and a clever legal workaround from 1910.
The 777 became the standard jackpot symbol because 7 was already considered lucky in Western culture and became the highest-paying symbol on early machines. Fruit symbols (cherries, lemons, oranges) date back to 1910 when machines dispensed fruit-flavored gum to circumvent gambling bans. The BAR symbol was the logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company.
Where It Started: The Liberty Bell (1895)
The first recognizable slot machine was built by Charles Fey in San Francisco around 1895. His “Liberty Bell” machine had three spinning reels with five symbols: horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts, and a cracked liberty bell. Three bells paid the highest prize — 50 cents, a significant amount in 1895.
The symbols on the Liberty Bell were playing card suits — a direct connection to existing gambling games. There were no fruits, no 7s, and no BARs. Those came later, driven by an unexpected force: prohibition.
How Anti-Gambling Laws Created Fruit Symbols
By the early 1900s, many US states had banned cash-payout gambling machines. Manufacturers needed a workaround to keep their machines in bars, shops, and saloons.
The solution: instead of paying out cash, machines would dispense prizes — specifically, fruit-flavored chewing gum. The Industry Novelty Company and the Mills Novelty Company redesigned their reel symbols to match the gum flavors: cherries, lemons, oranges, plums, and watermelons. Three matching fruits dispensed the corresponding gum flavor.
This is why the British still call slot machines “fruit machines” — the name stuck long after the gum dispensers disappeared.
Originally represented cherry-flavored gum. Became the universal “small win” symbol because early machines paid out on a single cherry (partial match), making it the most frequent payout symbol.
Each represented a gum flavor. Lemons specifically became associated with losing (“lemon” as slang for something defective) — possibly because lemon combinations paid nothing on some early machines.
The BAR Symbol: A Gum Company Logo
The BAR symbol was the logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, one of the early manufacturers of these “gum dispensing” machines. The company’s logo — a stylized BAR in a rectangular frame — appeared on the machines’ reels as a brand identifier. It became so iconic that it survived long after anyone remembered what Bell-Fruit Gum was.
Why 777? The Lucky Number
The number 7 carries deep cultural significance across many traditions. In Christianity, 7 represents completion (7 days of creation). In numerous ancient cultures, 7 was considered sacred or mystical. When slot manufacturers needed a symbol for the highest payout — the jackpot — 7 was the natural choice because players already associated it with luck and fortune.
Triple 7 (777) became the standard jackpot combination because slot machines traditionally used three reels. The rarest, most valuable outcome was three of the same top-tier symbol — and 7 was placed as the premium. Three 7s = maximum payout. Over decades of repetition, 777 became synonymous with “jackpot” worldwide.
The association is so strong that modern online slots — which could use any symbol for any purpose — still frequently include 7s as high-value symbols, even in games with completely unrelated themes.
From Fruits to Tumbling Gems: Modern Slot Symbols
Today’s online slots are free from the physical constraints and legal workarounds that created classic symbols. Modern providers design custom symbol sets for each game: ancient gods, underwater creatures, wild west characters, abstract gems — anything the theme demands.
But the DNA of those 1910 fruit machines persists. Most slots still use a tiered symbol hierarchy (low-pay → mid-pay → high-pay → special) that mirrors the original fruit machine structure. Scatter symbols evolved from the cherry’s “pay anywhere” mechanic. Wild symbols descend from the joker in card games.
And on Pragmatic Play’s Sugar Rush, Push Gaming’s Jammin’ Jars, and dozens of other modern titles, fruits still appear — now as nostalgic design choices rather than gum-dispensing necessities. The Megaways and Tumble mechanics of today are mechanically revolutionary, but they’re still descendants of Fey’s three spinning reels.
From fruit machines to 117,649-way Megaways — the randomizer picks from 3,300+ modern slots. What symbol set will you discover next?
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
Every slot symbol has a story. Cherries came from chewing gum. BAR was a corporate logo. 777 inherited humanity’s ancient fascination with the number seven. These symbols don’t affect your odds — they’re cultural artifacts from a 130-year-old invention that somehow still defines how we think about luck, chance, and the spinning reel.
