Back in the Game - The 10 Sports Slots You Need to be Playing in Summer 2021

Sports have been badly hit in the past couple of years and many of us have been missing either playing or watching our favourite games in person. Playing a sports-themed slot isn’t going to keep you fit (take a break and a stretch every 20 minutes at least, please!), but you might capture some of the feels of a big match with some of these titles.

An enduringly popular theme in slots, there’s a natural affinity between sports and gambling. Some sports have elements that can be incorporated into slot play, but most games just take on the livery and terminology of a particular game and run with it.

Let’s have a look at the 10 top sports slots in 2021.

1 – Knockout Diamonds by ELK Studios

Diamonds are a slot’s best friend. They show up in a lot of games, going back to some very old classics. But here they’re in a new milieu, in front of a boxing ring ready for a big fight! The game itself is very classic, with a mock-up of an old-school pub fruit machine. Like a lot of old-style games, this 2020 release is aimed at real gamblers with a 2,500-times stake top prize and medium to high variance. The theming is fairly light.

2 – Highland Reels by Eyecon

What a great result for the traditional sports of the Highland Games to get a slot – complete with a bagpipe soundtrack – into the top 250 of UK slot games! There’s a decent top prize of 3,000-times stake on this classic video slot with cartoon graphics and the aforementioned soundtrack carrying most of the theming that’s echoed by the cabers and big stones on the reels.

3 – AP McCoy: Sporting Legends by Playtech

Well, here we go, into the horse racing games! Horse racing is the sport traditionally most associated with gambling in the UK and there’s a rich vein of games based on the ponies. This one is one of a series from Playtech based on big-name jockeys and with some betting terms borrowed from the world of the betting shop, the bookie, and the race card.

4 – Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven by Playtech

Another icon of racing given his own slot by Playtech. Dettori is one of the few horse-racing figures to break through into wider public acclaim, becoming something of a TV star over the years. A lucky 7 is a horse-racing betting term, but the game here is very much a classic video slot, though very nicely done.

5 – The Grand National: Race of Champions by Inspired

A seasonal hit that is on our list we’re sure because the race has just been run. The Grand National was for years considered the UK’s favourite bet, in part because it really was a gamble because the race is so dangerous (and there are serious animal welfare questions to be asked about the history of the race). Some famous former winners – so famous that even I, a non-racing fan – are shown on the reels here.

6 – Harry’s Reels by BetVictor

This game from 2019 brings a legendary former football manager (and permanent public favourite to be given the England job in some short-term capacity) Harry Redknapp and gives him an exclusive slot title linked to his work for BetVictor. It’s a decent game with plenty of extra features and decent mathematics. Probably not for you if you’re a Millwall fan.

7 – Football Champions Cup by NetEnt

Away from the dangerously partisan world of actual, real, existing English football, NetEnt’s big sporting title from 2016 takes us down a more generic road, though you do have to pick a European Nation’s Cup qualifier to represent at the start of the game. A nice RTP that gets up towards 97% is a good result even if you do miss out on the fun bonus game themed around a penalty shootout. Crowd noise is the backdrop to the game that plays out over a stadium background.

8 – Scudamore’s Super Stakes by NetEnt

The Scudamore family are a very big noise in racing, with Peter probably the most famous of the bunch as a jokey. This is a nicely rural-feeling game, with high volatility to suit punters and a majestic classical soundtrack. There’s big prize potential in a 5,000-times stake top prize and you can always rely on NetEnt to deliver quality and playability, including a rewarding free spins round.