If you’ve spent time on the internet this year, you’re likely to have encountered online casinos.
They pop up in adverts or on the sidebar of some websites. You’ll see articles written about them and maybe even short adverts on YouTube before you see your chosen content. Online casinos are big business, and as part of the iGaming sector, they’re an industry that will only keep growing.As Finsmes explains, commercial iGaming revenue in the US reached $53bn in 2021 and is predicted to improve through 2022. More people are playing than ever before, whether online casinos, sports books or online poker.
The online casino industry is particularly interesting as it is a great example of diversification within an industry. When one thinks of a casino, you probably imagine rows of slot machines, roulette, poker and blackjack games. You may see an online casino the same way, but the truth is far more complex.
They have a more diverse offering of titles than you might imagine. The roulette games, for instance, might be wholly digital, but they might be hosted by a live dealer. That social interaction has become an accepted norm for online casinos, and now you can find games that go beyond standard casino offerings. There are game show-style titles with themes such as Alice in Wonderland.
The online slot offering is hugely diverse as well. Take a top US casino, Foxwoods. They have 3,500 slots for people to play across four floors, which are very much at the higher end of the scale. A typical online provider also has thousands, with such a diverse offering, there’s something that appeals to everyone. Also, unlike Foxwoods, there’s no heading upstairs, or along rows of machines to find one you like; you can pump in a search term, and you’re there.
In fact, online casinos have such a wide range of themes it is virtually impossible not to find something within your spectrum of interest. Here are just a few of the themes used by online slot machine providers.
BRANDED SLOTS
One of the most popular online slot machines are branded slots. These slots take a popular brand, be it a film, TV series or product, and turn it into a slot game. That might be around a quiz show, such as Deal or No Deal, or it might be loosely associated with a brand. An example of this is the filmThor; it’s very popular right now, but as the character is widely used, online slot providers can develop Thor games to capture fans of the brand without licensing the actual Chris Hemsworth imagery.
RETRO SLOTS
Retro slots follow branded slots by offering gamers experiences based on older brands and characters. This is exemplified by the range ofjackpot slots from Foxy Bingo, which includes The Goonies Return. The Goonies was a 1985 film which hasn’t had a sequel nor a remake and therefore holds retro appeal. Elsewhere on their site, the same provider has a Top Cat slot, a cartoon not seen on television for many years. These appeal to customers of a certain age who like to take in brands and characters they remember from their younger days.
SLOTS FROM A SPECIFIC ERA
Era-slots are things like Roman, Egyptian and Viking themes. These are often generic, so rather than focus on a particular show or character, they lean heavily on stereotypes. For instance, a Viking slot might have lots of lighting, horned helmets and axes, whereas an Egyptian one will have distinctive music you associate with the era. These not only appeal to fans of the said era but also can be linked to shows in the same way as Thor, which we mentioned earlier. Vikings slots might appeal to fans of the Vikings TV show or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla but without actual licensing,
COMMON INTEREST SLOTS
A provider simply wants to reel you in with common interest slots by appealing to a particular hobby or interest. If you pardon the pun, angling fans might be hooked by something based around fishing, whilst soccer fans looking to get ready for the World Cup might be attracted to an online slot with goals, balls and corner flags. You’ll see common interest slots more often than most, covering everything from sweets and candy to horror, from Christmas to fireworks.