Aristocrat Gaming and the National Football League (NFL) released the first visuals of its new series of NFL-themed slot machines with the reveal of the launch game NFL Super Bowl Jackpots. This introductory game will bring the largest sports brand in the U.S. to casino floors across the country in time for the 2023 NFL season.
The original license agreement was announced in fall of 2021, and after 20 months of development, the games are ready for launch.
“Today, we are thrilled to debut the first look of the new NFL-licensed slot machines, which will provide an innovative entertainment experience for millions of NFL fans who enjoy the fun of casino gaming,” said Hector Fernandez, CEO of Aristocrat Gaming, in a press statement. “We are changing the game with this first-of-its-kind slot machine, offering fans the ability to customize the experience by selecting their favorite team in any casino they choose to play.”
The inaugural NFL Super Bowl Jackpots on the new King Max cabinet is the first of several games that will be unveiled over time as part of a multi-year agreement between Aristocrat and the NFL.
According to Jon Hanlin, Aristocrat’s senior vice president of commercial strategy for the Americas and EMEA, Aristocrat will include all of its various game styles in the NFL series. “We’ve designed the portfolio very purposely,” Hanlin told GGB News.
“Our intention with the NFL slot machines is to reach all types of slot players on the floor, so a number of the games have stepper content, some of them are video Class III content focused on those slot enthusiast players, and there will to be some games that are really focused on core mechanics—the Hold & Spin mechanic will fit those core players who love to play Lightning Link and Dragon Link. We’re building a portfolio of products at launch that will speak to all parts of the casino floor.”
Games in the series to debut later this year and into 2024 include Overtime Cash, Super Bowl Link, NFL Kickoff, Winning Drive, and Rings of Victory—each inspired by a unique element of NFL gameplay. The focus for now, though, is on Super Bowl Jackpots, designed by Hall of Fame game designer Joe Kaminkow (Aristocrat’s chief innovation officer).
“There are a lot of great bonus features,” Hanlin said. “There are opportunities to really focus on gameplay of football, so a lot of our bonuses are focused around kicking field goals, scoring touchdowns, two-minute drills, quarters and overtime. It really encompasses what NFL fans see every Sunday when they watch the games, and brings that into the slot machine world.”
That familiarity includes six licensed fan-favorite stadium anthems during key moments in the game.
Bonus features also include NFL game footage, and not just any NFL footage. The first thing players see when sitting down at the game is the message, “Pick your team.” Players can select from the complete menu of 32 NFL teams. Once the selection is made, all the graphics, imagery and game highlights will be of the player’s home team.
“We realized that NFL fans don’t always live in the market where their favorite team is,” said Hanlin. “What intrigued us was to do something really innovative, creating these 32 different art packages—selectable art, we call it. If I hit the button for the Pittsburgh Steelers, everything changes to Steelers logos, Steelers helmets, and clips of game play from the Steelers games of the most recent seasons. You really feel that excitement and that energy of Steelers football.”
Super Bowl Jackpots also features a $1 million progressive jackpot, where permitted. “We had to up the ante a little bit,” said Hanlin. “It’s one of the biggest brands in the world, so we felt it necessary to put a jackpot on there that would be appealing to those retail players who love the big jackpot chases.”
Hanlin says Aristocrat is working with its casino partners to place the first NFL games in the field by the start of the 2023 NFL season, or at least very early in the season. By the time of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in October, it is likely the company will have the first performance results for the new series.
Longer term, Hanlin says Aristocrat will remain “open to partnerships and license agreements with all sports partners,” meaning there’s the potential for Aristocrat game groups themed to the other major professional sports leagues. But for now, the concentration is on the NFL series. “We’re looking to see how this goes, and we’re looking to understand sports brands in this space,” he said. “The slot machine space is something that is kind of new (to sports).”
Aristocrat also is working with casinos on the myriad possibilities for placement of the games on the casino floors—merchandising possibilities from sportsbooks to sports bars to the main casino floor.
“We’re really focused on giving operators the strategy behind each game, and what we’re targeting as far as slot players or NFL fans that may choose to play these slot machines,” Hanlin said. “Retail players, core players, stepper players—we’ll give them the strategy, give them the killer content, and then we’ve got to trust that they’re going to go put the games in the best place to succeed and drive the best results for both of us.
“Working with our operating partners, our casino partners, is going to be crucial to making sure we find great locations for this. And if we can access new slot players who choose to play NFL slot machines, that’s a fantastic outcome for all of us.”
Hanlin says the NFL slots will bring the best of two worlds—sports and slot play.
“For us, the NFL-themed slot machines really offer a unique and entertaining experience for fans of Aristocrat slot machines and NFL fans alike,” Hanlin said. “It gives us the opportunity to get the best of both worlds, to showcase the NFL in a really fun and new way, and really engage some NFL fans, who will love to play their favorite team in their favorite casino.
“And it gives Aristocrat the opportunity to continue to innovate in the market, to have fun creating these bonuses that are based in core games that we do now, but with fun, innovative things around them like kicking field goals and two-minute drills. We’re really excited that this partnership has gone so well, and that we’ve created a product that we feel really will speak to all types of slot players.”
“The unveiling of the first NFL-themed slot machines represents an opportunity to bring the league closer to our fans in a new area,” said Joe Ruggiero, senior vice president of consumer products at the NFL, in the press statement. “We have valued collaborating with Aristocrat to bring their vision and responsible gaming resources to fans during the 2023 NFL season and beyond.”
