Football Themed Slots

When we talk about football themed slots, we are not talking about American Football. We are talking about association football; what most people across the globe would simply call “football”.

It is important to understand this, because otherwise the rest of the article will make no sense!

If you want, think can of them as “soccer themed slots”. So, what is it about football themed slots that keep drawing in the gamers? Here, we’ll take a look at football themed slots as a whole, in an attempt to find out.

Why offer football themed slots?

Football is watched by more people than any other sport. It is also a fair bet to say that a large proportion of slot gamers (certainly adult males) have a love of the sport.

What better way to lure them into playing your new slot then, than by making it a football themed slot? It sounds like a winning marketing idea, right? It is a game that players will find appealing, and yet, football themed slots have never really been very good! We’ll find out why, very shortly. But first, let’s see how popular they really are!

Are they really that popular?

Yes! Football slots are still hugely popular. They aren’t played by anywhere near as many gamers as there are football fans, but they are still big business.

Football slots are quite primitive slots most of the time, though it is a love of the game in general that keeps football fans playing football themed slots.

The types of icons

Your typical football themed slot will contain one of two kinds of items. You’ll either have a licensed football slot, with pictures of the world’s best players; or you’ll have an unlicensed slot, which contains shirts and flags instead.

The former are of course, far more appealing to play than the latter, though at the end of the day, they are just symbols. Even the most average football fan will be able to see who the unlicensed shirts belong too, even if the no names are specified due to licensing!

Football bonuses

The bonus rounds in football slots tend to be pretty generic. Some of them offer mini-tournament games, where you can pick a team, and hope they get all the way to the cup final to win big money.

Other football bonus games include penalty shoots outs. Penalty shoot-outs are notorious for heart-break. So, for football fans, there is nothing more realistic than missing out on a jackpot, thanks to a dodgy penalty taker “booting it into row Z.”

Unfortunately…

There has to be some bad news, and we hinted at it earlier. Unfortunately, football themed slots aren’t very good as a whole. That isn’t to say that they can’t be in the future, though. One problem lies in the fact that they are all too similar, and often, all too basic.

The main problem though, isn’t about special features, or even the design of the paylines or wagering structure. The biggest problem comes from the icons and symbols on the reels. Football themed slots do not age well.

Many of the football themed slots that are in existence right now were released in 2006, 2008 and 2010. If this was any other type of themed slot, there would be nothing wrong with that. However, this is a football themed slot, and many of the players who make up those symbols are now retired, or aren’t even in their respective national teams anymore.

You would quite literally need to bring out a new football slot every two years, to coincide with the World Cup and European Championships, to keep football themed slots up to date. Aside from their age, the other problem with football themed slots is their setup. Because they aren’t renewed very often, their setup might be out of date.

Sometimes developers do update their football slots with new players and new faces. However, they often leave the infrastructure of the slot the same, with the same paylines, same features, and same stakes. This means you end up with many slots that are essentially the same, albeit with a different paint job!

Is it worth playing football themed slot?

You can keep luring football fans in with older football themed slots, but you can only do it for so long. After a while, the allure will wear off, and gamers won’t be willing to spend X amount on a slot with features A and B, when they could play a slot with features A, B, C and D, and for less; even if it isn’t a football themed slot.

Whether or not football slots are for you depends on your taste. If you like 5 reel, 25 payline slots, and new slot features don’t interest you; you may enjoy a football slot. Of course, if you’re a die-hard football fan, you’ll probably love them anyway!

The best known football themed slots

One football slot that has never tried to be up to date, and works well being old, is Sensible Soccer. This progressive jackpot slot is based on a football video game, not football itself. It is deliberately designed to look old, offers a progressive jackpot, and has plenty of special features. It is without a doubt, the best football themed slot.

Football Star – The 2014 FIFA World Cup is fast approaching and while you’re waiting for your favorite teams to go against each other, why not give Microgaming’s recent release Football Star a shot? The game is brand new, it has just been released this May and it features some absolutely stunning characteristics. The rewards you can get from this game are impressive, the gameplay is highly entertaining and most importantly, you get your chance for a glimpse of what the luxurious life of a football star is really like. With its cool graphics, exciting and rewarding bonus rounds Football Star is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat hour after hour.

Shoot Slot – Definitely a Microgaming classic and a football themed slot you should not miss. It is a great experience to play it regardless of whether you are a football fan or not. You will certainly appreciate the exciting gameplay even in base-game and the highly visually appealing graphics. And while Maradona, Pele and other football legends roll on your reels, you don’t only get a chance to reminisce, but also to win some cool cash prizes. The game features a 50 paylines payout system which makes the game very flexible and versatile, so that it has a lot to offer regardless of how big you want to gamble.

Football Cup – Viaden’s take on the genre, this is a very fun game to play. It offers great graphics, some pretty cool features in base game and an entertaining overall gaming experience is guaranteed. This is a game to love regardless of whether you are a soccer fan or not. The overall look of the game will certainly put you in a good mood and the great rewards you can win while enjoying the good looking images that are rolling on your screen are impressive. Give it a shot and see your bankroll being boosted over and over again.

Sensible Soccer – Yet another classic of the genre, this retro looking slot developed by Ash Gaming is one of the most played casino video games of all time. And it’s not surprising, considering the smooth gameplay, the exciting bonus rounds and the great “aged” visually appealing graphics. Give it a shot and it’s guaranteed you’ll be hooked from the first couple of spins.