Aristocrat is the second biggest producer of casino slots in the world – second only to IGT. They have come a long way since their start in 1953. Under the control of Len Ainsworth, Aristocrat would go from a regional niche player in their native Australia to the global slot powerhouse they are today.

• Aristocrat Lightning Slot
• Aristocrat Lightning Link Online
• Aristocrat Lightning Link Free Slots
• Lightning Cash Aristocrat

Product description Flip the switch and get charged up for an electrifying slots journey with Lightning Link Casino, the fabulous new slot game from Aristocrat! The creators of Heart of Vegas and Cashman Casino bring you a thundering new free slots casino experience, straight to your phone. Flip the switch and get charged up for an electrifying new slots games journey with Lightning Link Casino slots. The most exciting new slot games from Aristocrat is now available in Google Play. ‎Flip the switch and get charged up for an electrifying slots journey with Lightning Link Casino - the fabulous new slot game from Aristocrat! The creators of Heart of Vegas and Cashman Casino bring you a new thundering free slots casino experience, straight to your phone. Begin your own slots adve. Lightning Link Slots. Big Ben Slots Machine. Tiki Torch Slot. Sky Rider: Silver Treasures Slot. 50 Dragons Slots Machine. Double Happiness Slot. Buffalo Grand Slots. Dolphin Treasure Slot.

This company is best known for its live casino slots. Games include the Buffalo series, Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Walking Dead slots and many more. More recently, Aristocrat slot games became available online. Classic games from their extensive library have made it online. You can play them in states with regulated gambling, and at online casinos around the world.

You’ll find everything you need to get the best from Aristocrat slot machines on this page. Information on their best games, jackpot systems and options for playing online can be found below. You’ll also find a detailed history and FAQ section at the bottom of the page.

Aristocrat slot reviews and demo games

Where to Play Aristocrat Slots Online?

The only Aristocrat title available at legal online casinos is Buffalo. This game is available at the Hard Rock Online Casino and is exclusive to NJ.

Other casinos offer games similar in design and features to Aristocrat titles.

Chumba and Luckyland Slots offer a Buffalo game called Buffalo Rush, while the Golden Nugget Casino in NJ features three Buffalo titles including two versions of the Thundering Buffalo.

If you are new to online casino games, make sure you familiarize yourself with the bonuses and incentives available before you sign up. In regulated states, competition between the brands means that there are no-deposit bonuses available. These allow you to spin for real money without making a deposit. If you like what you find, there are matched welcome bonuses on offer too.

If you don’t live in a state with regulated online casinos, you’ll need to travel to your closest brick and mortar casino to enjoy the latest Aristocrat slot machines.

Aristocrat Slot Games: The Lightning Link and Dragon Link Games

There are few recent innovations in slot gaming that have proven as popular as the Lightning Link format. These games have varied themes, sharing a ‘Hold and Spin’ bonus feature and progressive jackpot system. Dragon Link slots have the same bonus, using a range of colorful Asian themes and flaming balls as graphics.

Hold and Spin bonuses are triggered when you get six or more special symbols on the same spin. These symbols show numbers (the number of coins won) or the names of jackpot bonuses. Themed symbols are now greyed out. You get three spins to add more special symbols. Any time you hit new ones, the number of spins resets to three.

If you fill all 15 positions on the reels, the ‘Grand’ progressive jackpot is coming your way. Lightning Link games also include wilds, scatter prizes and free spins (which come with various extras and twists to the gameplay).

Popular titles include High Stakes, Mermaid’s Pearl, Wild Chuco, Peacock Princess and Happy & Prosperous.

Aristocrat Slots: The Iconic ‘Buffalo’ Slots Series

The first Buffalo slot machine series stood out on the casino floor. With all-ways gameplay, multipliers and a theme based on Native American wildlife, these games proved hugely popular.

Over the years, Buffalo has become a family of slots. It is rare to see a live casino without the latest titles. Sound effects, graphics and free spins are a staple in all Buffalo titles. Aristocrat has since added unusual reel setups, jackpot wheels and unique features to this range.

Here are some of the most popular games:

• Buffalo Grand: You can spin a huge bonus wheel to win jackpot prizes in this version. Some prizes allow a second wheel spin for a multiplier.
• Buffalo Gold:The unique feature of this game is a collection element to the free spins. As you accumulate gold heads, extra symbols turn into the high paying buffalos.
• Buffalo Stampede: This game has jackpots, though the unique gameplay involves herds of buffalo. They run up the reels, expanding them – or across the top of the reels, adding extra buffalo symbols.
• Buffalo Diamond: A new title that has a progressive element to the number of free spins you can win (with multipliers). There is also an unusual diamond-shaped reel setup.

Other titles in this range include Buffalo Gold Revolution, Buffalo Xtreme – and titles with mechanical reel setups.

You shouldn’t have any issues finding the original Buffalo slot machine at your local casino. For online players, the only regulated state offering a Buffalo slot machine is NJ, where you can find it at the Hard Rock in the live games section.

Aristocrat Slot Machines: The Walking Dead Series

These live casino slots are based on the massively popular TV series. Big screens and amazing animations and clips (many involving zombies) bring these games to life. There are now three, each based on different series.

The original Walking Dead slot machine involved a huge bonus wheel. This paid progressive jackpots and accessed free spins bonus games. Wilds literally oozed down the reels, linking multiple win-lines.

Walking Dead 2 took the popularity of these games to a new level. This game had special zombie sequences including an entertaining ‘Wild Horde’. That saw zombies tumble over the reels. There are also entertaining picks games for jackpots and free spins. Walking Dead 3 has wider reels, which zombies can walk across.

Other Popular Live Casino Slots from Aristocrat

Aristocrat has developed many casino slots based on TV and movie franchises. These include two different slots based on Game of Thrones, plus Zorro, Ted, Sons of Anarchy, Big Bang Theory, and an entertaining game featuring Elvira – mistress of the dark.

Music acts are also featured heavily in the Aristocrat games list. Popular slot machines include Britney Spears, Madonna, The Rolling Stones and the B-52s.

Regular slot themes include a range of Asian titles. Choy Sun Doa, 5 Dragons (including the new 5 Dragons Gold) and 88 Fortunes can be enjoyed in addition to the long list of Dragon Link titles.

The list goes on, with Miss Kitty, Big Red and many other titles waiting to be tried. Look out for the ‘double click’ sound effect when the reels stop, plus the electronic ‘circus’ tunes which are triggered for your big wins.

History of Aristocrat

When Aristocrat got started back in 1953, today’s spectacular multi-media slots were the stuff of science fiction. Instead, the games were fully mechanical. They were housed in solid metal frames to prevent tampering and operated by pulling a lever. Original games included the iconic ‘Clubmaster’ series.

Aristocrat started in Australia by Ainsworth – where they are still headquartered today. They first came to the USA in 1961, when Aristocrat Nevada was opened. This company produced the first all-electronic slot. This was called ‘Wild West’ and debuted in 1979.

Innovation continued for the next decades, with electronic machines taking over from mechanical ones. Networks of slots with linked jackpots were made possible by the 1990s. Aristocrat’s ‘Hyperlink’ was an early example.

Aristocrat has made acquisitions as they expanded operations online and to new geographical locations including Macau. A separate slot company, named Ainsworth, was started separately. This is also chaired by Ainsworth – and has a separate list of beautifully designed slots.

Two Australian gaming companies are preparing for a massive court battle. Giant pokies producer Aristocrat Technologies Australia filed suit in federal court against Ainsworth Game Technologies for a breach of contract.

The slot machine is called Lightning Link, one that Aristocrat designed in 2014 and they claim was copied by Ainsworth in 2016 and 2017. In an effort to defend its assets and intellectual property rights, Aristocrat is suing its competitor.

News may emerge from the court in a matter of days as the first hearing is scheduled for July 17.

Years in the Making

According to Business News Australia, it all started in 2014.

That’s when Aristocrat partnered with High Roller Gaming to develop a new slot machine called Lightning Link. The machines subsequently sold well in Australia and throughout the world, becoming a staple in land-based casinos from places ranging from Macau to America.

Lightning Link offered 16 themes from which operators could choose, and all games included jackpots and bonuses. The company sold a “very substantial number” of them.

Aristocrat noted in its lawsuit that Ainsworth founder Len Ainsworth commented publicly about the success of his competitor’s machine in December 2016. That’s when he apparently told a newspaper, “They struck it lucky with a game”. He went on to say that they had “things in the wings” that would beat Aristocrat. Presumably he meant in terms of sales.

Rogue Ainsworth Employee or Collusion?

Allegedly, Ainsworth began developing a game called Jackpot Strike in 2017. The game reportedly intended to be a copy of Lightning Link. Aristocrat claims that an Ainsworth employee copied everything while developing Jackpot Strike. Everything from the screen designs to animations, and even the game mathematics.

The employee is said to have worked as a game designer at Ainsworth from 2011 to 2016. He then worked as a designer at Aristocrat for less than a month in early 2017 before returning to Ainsworth. This timeline coincides with the development of Ainsworth’s new game. Aristocrat claims the employee went so far as to download the game’s math details from a spreadsheet onto a USB drive to deliver to Ainsworth.

This all led to some of the crimes alleged in the lawsuit, including breach of confidence and copyright infringement. Aristocrat is also suing to obtain a permanent injunction on all Jackpot Strike machines, their destruction, and payment to Aristocrat for damages.

Aristocrat Steams

The fury over the situation is evident in some of the court documents from Aristocrat. A spokesperson for Aristocrat noted:

“It is our view that this case goes well beyond simple copyright infringement and concerns allegations of extensive and deliberate misappropriation of trade secrets, confidential information and intellectual property. Upholding appropriate standards is part and parcel of ensuring ongoing trust in our business and industry and is an important part of Aristocrat’s high compliance culture.”

With that said, the spokesperson added: “We won’t be commenting further while the case is on foot.”

The only response from Ainsworth was that it plans to “vigorously” defend itself against the claims made by Aristocrat.

Not the First Legal Action

Per the Sydney Morning Herald, Aristocrat first went to court with Ainsworth last year in the same matter. Only that time, it was to demand the right to see documents that might help prove its case.

The claim, even last year, was that Ainsworth had somehow obtained access to Aristocrat’s proprietary information for Lightning Link and used it to create Jackpot Strike. Aristocrat then demanded that its competitor turn over everything from artwork to source codes, math tables, and commercial documents – anything related to Jackpot Strike.

Aristocrat Lightning Slot

Some of those documents were used to file the federal court lawsuit last week.

Roller Coaster Investor Reactions

The Australian Securities Exchange saw an interesting range of responses to the lawsuit for both publicly-traded companies.

Aristocrat Lightning Link Online

Aristocrat trades as ALL.AX and took a significant dip on Friday, July 5, from $29.79 down to $29.07. By Tuesday, July 9, the stock price had gone down to $28.94. But as details of the case and court documents began to come out, the price went back as high as $29.68 and hovered in that range.

Aristocrat Lightning Link Free Slots

Ainsworth, trading as AGI.AX, has been on a perpetual roller coaster for quite some time. Switching from $0.69 to $0.67 on July 4, it did the same on July 5 but flew up to $0.70 on Monday, July 8. It then fell quickly down to $0.66 on July 9, and down to $0.65 on July 10, and has since been fluctuating between those low points and $68.

Lightning Cash Aristocrat

Look for more interesting upticks and downswings after information comes from the first hearing next week.