NFL fever will officially begin this fall with the release of leading land-based casino products developer Aristocrat Gaming’s league-themed slot machines.

Locations not yet determined:

The accurate number of locations that will add NFL-licensed slots to their casinos has not yet been decided.

However, Mark Wadley, Aristocrat Gaming’s marketing director, emphasized that “machines won’t be hard to find.”

He also said: “I would anticipate that there will be a wide demand for this product. It will be widespread throughout Vegas as well as other gaming jurisdictions in the United States.”

Partners promote the upcoming release:

The upcoming edition of NFL slots is being promoted on the largest media grid screen on the east side of Allegiant Stadium.

In this regard, Mr. Wadley said: “We’re very proud partners of the Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium and in that right we get the opportunity to be able to use some of their high-value channels to be able to advertise our games.”

User feedback as a key part of completing new slots:

However, the slots are still not finished as they require their design and programming to be completed. In this sense, Aristocrat wants to incorporate user feedback into the design and programming process.

In support of that fact, on the Aristocrat website, fans may “design” their unique slot machine by completing a short interactive questionnaire. These questions relate to the style of the jersey, the user’s favorite teams and whether their favorite NFL players that should be involved in the games are the ones that company posts on its website.

Commenting on this, Mr. Wadley said: “We are working to finalize that product.”

Las Vegas – a key city for the NFL:

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, the Raiders were able to move to Las Vegas in 2020 allowing Las Vegas to start working with the NFL.

Since then, the city has been the site of two Pro Bowls, the NFL Draft and will host Super Bowl LVIII next year. But that’s not all; as the NFL, the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium also have many unions with gaming companies.

However, the future release of NFL-themed slots will be a complete reversal of the league’s relationship with Las Vegas.

Commenting on that, David Schwartz, UNLV professor and game historian, said: “It signals a 180 on the NFL’s attitude towards gambling.

“For decades, the league took pains to eliminate any associations between football and gambling. Most infamously, the NFL in 2003 refused to allow a commercial extolling the virtue of Las Vegas – without any reference to gambling- to air during the Super Bowl.

“In the 20 years since then, the expansion of gambling (both casino and sports) nationwide, as well as the significant public investment in Allegiant Stadium, have helped to soften the league’s stance.”