What? How does that make sense? Sports and slot games…really? Those might have been your first thoughts when you read the title of this article and, in truth, they were ours too until we looked into it a little.
See, we’re not talking about a direct correlation between sports and slots games. Sure, slots have changed a lot since they first came into being in the late 20th century, but as far as we’re aware they haven’t evolved into team sports that are played in front of tens of thousands of people.
No, rather than looking at this literally we’re taking more of a sideways glance and having a look at how football, basketball, cricket and any other sport you can imagine have inspired a multitude of incredibly popular slot games.
Why Sports and Slots are a Match Made in Heaven
Okay so to dash the disbelief conveyed in the first paragraph of this piece let’s look at the reasons why sports and slots are such perfect bedfellows:
Popularity: If you remember correctly from high school, popular attracts popular, and that’s not just confined to the hallways and corridors of secondary schools; it’s a mantra that holds true in a lot of other areas as well, in particular business.
In terms of popularity is there really anything else quite as popular as sports on the planet? Like seriously? Something that captivates billions, bordering on obsession for most? We can’t think of anything other than say food and oxygen.
Some way off, but still incredibly popular in the grand scheme of things is wagering and in particular slot machines. In the UK slots are responsible for around £5 billion in revenues every twelve months. Around the globe that figure multiplies enormously.
So, some would say, it’s only natural for two incredibly popular pastimes to go hand in hand and, from a logistics point of view, it makes more sense for the slightly less popular slots to hang on the coattails of the popularity behemoth that is sport.
Thrills: Adrenaline, excitement, drama, jeopardy. Whatever you call it sports has it and in abundance. So too do slot machines, which means that those who like one are sure to find something to enjoy in the other.
Whilst the excitement of seeing your team score a last-minute winner to secure promotion might not be the exact same as winning £10,000 on slots, the feeling that you get when both things happen is almost identical.
Sports/Wagering Crossover: Sports wagering is a huge thing here in the United Kingdom and it’s massive all over the world too, particularly in the United States where it has been recently legalised by the striking down of PASPA.
Why that’s important to slots is that almost every sports wagering site offers slot games too and for reasons mentioned in the previous post, it’s a natural leap to see someone go from placing a wager on their team to spinning the virtual slot reels within just a few taps of their phone screen.
How Slots Represent Sports
If you’re looking for the level of detail on offer in Football Manager or the graphical excellence of a title like FIFA (sorry we can’t say that anymore…EA FC) then you’re going to be sorely disappointed when you play a sports slot.
That’s because, quite understandably, the graphical capabilities of online slots just don’t match up to those of purpose built gaming consoles. That doesn’t mean that the graphics are poor by any stretch, in fact they’re probably at the top end of mobile gaming quality, it just means that they are more basic than traditional games.
As such sports tends to be a loose theme, so a slot might have officially licensed music and icons from a particular sport, or in some cases, licensed cut scenes. Ultimately when it comes to slots the theme might be what attracts you to a particular game but it’s the wins and overall gameplay that keep you playing.
In Summary
Slot machines are popular but they are always striving to be more popular. Slots providers are in a constant battle with one another which isn’t quite to the death but is stool brutal and competitive.
As such they need to find a niche to get ahead of one another and producing games on themes that are super popular like sports is a no-brainer really. And if you so happen to be a sports fan and a lover of playing games for real money prizes then sports themed slot games could be for you.
Sebastian is an accomplished author with a passion for storytelling. His works span various genres, from thrilling mysteries to heartfelt romance novels. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for character development, Sebastian weaves engaging narratives that captivate readers and transport them to new worlds.