Williams Entertainment
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| Division | |
| Industry | Gaming Technology |
| Predecessor | Williams Manufacturing Company |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Enterprise, Nevada, United States |
| Products | Slot machines, online gambling, mobile gambling, gaming software/hardware development |
| Parent | Scientific Games Corporation |
| Website | www |
WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. WMS traces its roots to 1943, to the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
Williams initially was a manufacturer of pinball machines. In 1964, Williams was acquired by jukebox manufacturer Seeburg Corp. and reorganized as Williams Electronics Manufacturing Division. In 1973, the company branched out into the coin-operated arcade video game market with its Pong clone Paddle Ball, eventually creating a number of video game classics, including Defender and Robotron: 2084. In 1974, Williams Electronics, Inc. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeburg. Williams Electronics was sold as an independent company during the bankruptcy of Seeburg in 1980.
In 1987, Williams changed its parent name to WMS Industries, Inc. when it made its public offering. WMS is a shortening of Williams, which it also selected for its NYSE ticker symbol. In 1988, it acquired competitor Bally/Midway, which it spun off in 1998, together with its video game business. WMS entered the reel-spinning slot machine market in 1994. It closed its pinball division in 1999.
In 2013, WMS became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. In 2016, WMS was reorganized and fully merged into Scientific Games. Today, WMS is a brand of Scientific Games, along with SG, Bally and Shuffle Master.
In 1943, Harry Williams founded Williams Manufacturing Company at 161 West Huron Street in Chicago, Illinois. The first seven products were a fortune-telling machine called Selector Scope (1/44), two electro-mechanical games, Periscope (5/44) and Liberator (8/44), a novelty called Zingo (10/44), a pinball conversion called Flat-Top (1/45), another EM arcade game, Circus Romance (7/45) and, lastly, a second pinball conversion called Laura (10/45). The two pinball conversions (Flat-Top & Laura) were built by purchasing older pinball machines made by other companies and changing artwork and other elements on the playfield. The lack of raw materials during World War II made the manufacture of new machines difficult and expensive.
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