In 1987, the company went public as WMS Industries, Inc. using a shortened version of its name which it also selected for its stock ticker symbol.

Beginning with video lottery terminals, the division introduced its first slot machines in 1994 and became a major player in the business.

In 1950, Williams produced Lucky Inning, their first pinball machine to have its bottom flippers facing inward in the modern manner.

Popular Williams pinballs included Shangri-La (1967), Apollo (1967), Beat Time (1967), Smart Set (1969), Gold Rush (1971), and Space Mission (1976).

Taking note of Atari, Inc.'s success with Pong in 1972, Williams decided to enter the fledgling coin-operated arcade video game industry.

After preliminary negotiations with Magnavox, it subcontracted the Magnetic Corporation of America to create its first arcade video game Paddle-Ball.

In 1980, Seeburg, facing bankruptcy, sold Williams to Louis Nicastro, who, with his son Neil, would take the company public and run it for over two decades.

Williams developed its own breakthrough hit with the release of 1981's Defender, whose gameplay, horizontal scrolling, and dynamic color influenced many subsequent games.

It was followed by a sequel in the same year, Stargate, and a group of popular and influential titles: Joust, Robotron: 2084, Sinistar, and the licensed Moon Patrol.

With the exception of Sinistar, these were widely ported to home systems by external developers and publishers including Atari.

[14] In 1988, Williams acquired Bally/Midway, the consolidated amusement games subsidiary of longtime competitor Bally Manufacturing, which left the business to concentrate on casinos.

Midway saw strong sales in the early 1990s with a number of successful arcade games, including Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam.

In 1994, the company acquired Tradewest, which it renamed Williams Entertainment, to publish home ports of Midway arcade games.

[15][16] Williams' first solid-state machines produced in 1976 were prototype runs based on electromechanical games; Aztec (1976)[17] and Grand Prix.

[21] From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Williams released numerous innovative pinball games, such as Gorgar (1979, the first pinball featuring a synthetic voice), Firepower (1980), Black Knight (1980, the first featuring multiple levels), Jungle Lord (1981), Space Shuttle (1984), Comet (1985), High Speed (1986), Pin*Bot (1986), F-14 Tomcat (1987), Cyclone (1988), and Taxi (1988).

The innovation did not pay off, as the manufacturing expenses exceeded the prices that the market would bear, and that same year, WMS left pinball to focus on slot machine development.

The company's participation games have included machines based on such well-known entertainment-related brands as Men in Black, The Price Is Right, Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Clint Eastwood, Powerball, Green Acres, The Dukes of Hazzard, Top Gun, The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings and Clue.

[2] WMS continued to produce video gaming machines and, to a smaller extent, reel-spinning slots, for sale and for lease to casinos in the U.S., selected foreign markets and state lotteries.

Younger players raised on video games often seek more challenging experiences, both physical and mental, than do women age 55 to 65 – the traditional audience for slot machines.

By playing games and enlisting Facebook friends' help, players can accumulate "lucky charms" (instead of money).

[2] In 2012, WMS acquired Sweden-based Jadestone Group AB[38] and then Iowa-based Phantom EFX,[39] which, later that year, became part of a new subsidiary, Williams Interactive.

[42] Later that year, Betsson and Unibet online casinos entered multi-year agreements with Williams Interactive to provide "premium video slot games as Jackpot Party, Zeus or Reel 'Em In ... to their registered players (more than 12 million customers)".