How Themed Slot Licensing Is Bringing New Revenue Streams to Sport
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New Zealand is a small but proud sporting nation. As online casinos and betting grow in popularity and become legalised, sports licensing is certain to be a popular marketing option. But what are the benefits of this to sport?
Licensing intellectual property or an image is the practice of letting another company use your brand on their product. You see this every day: It may involve pop stars being printed on the side of soda cans, or movie stars adorned on supermarket-bought t-shirts. While it is endemic in other forms of media such as music and television, it has only really become big in sports over the last 20 years.
The Benefits of Licensing to Slots
There are many different benefits to licensing, the main being that it brings in a new revenue stream. Many of these can also involve an upfront fee as well as recurring payments afterwards, making them quite lucrative.
It also allows companies to expand their product without the huge outlay of forming a new company. It is unlikely the All-Blacks would suddenly set up a cereal brand, yet it would not be out of the question for a food company to license them for a short-term deal.
When it comes to licensing slots, sports stars are placing their likeness in a burgeoning entertainment sphere. Revenue from online gambling is expected to reach US$2.89 billion by the end of this year. Around 4 out of 5 New Zealanders have played a game at an online casino. While figures for online pokies are hard to come by, 17,799 slot machines exist in the country, with most in pubs and clubs and a small percentage in casinos. Online game usage has been growing, with some exceptional providers who have attracted new players through the use of online bonuses. For example, HideousSlots.com $5 deposit page here lets people sign up and try slots for very little.
The Types of Sport Licensed Slots
Sport licensed slots can be broken down into two categories. There are those that license the likenesses of individuals, and those that license the branding of events.
A good example to start with can be found in the United Kingdom. They have quite robust regulations, which are uniform across the country (In contrast to the US, where laws are decided at state level). As online casino games and sportsbooks have quite close ties, it makes sense that slot games are a good crossover. This has been seen in the range of horse racing-themed slot games. Veteran jockey Frankie Dettori has his own slot, as does AP McCoy.
However, these do not just stop at racing. You can find games by cricketer Brian Lara and snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan. Many of these sporting legends are now retired, so it provides an income stream for them after competitive sport is over. It also ties in well to the legends’ circuits and shows many of them take part in.
Many of these are by one company: PlayTech, a veteran in slot game development. They are also responsible for many of the event-themed slots, carrying on the racing link with titles like Grand National, one of the UK’s biggest races, and Cheltenham, a town with the biggest racing festival in the country.
Possible New Zealand Sport Themed Slots
The most obvious outlet for a themed slot in New Zealand would be Rugby, ideally a collaboration with the All Blacks. As a world brand, it is certain that developers would love to get their hands on this imagery. Cricket would also be a strong contender, with superstars like Kane Williamson being prime candidates.
Much of the problem with this current situation is that New Zealand’s laws and regulations are still being finalised. There has been no regulatory framework for what online casinos can and can not do. This has seen many players turning to offshore casinos, meaning a loss of control and revenue. In February 2026, licenses will be put up for auction that will determine 15 companies that can provide legalised services.
With this, it is hoped further clarification can be given on how far the links between sport and casinos can go. Some countries are extremely strict on this. For example, the United Kingdom was considering a ban on online casinos sponsoring soccer clubs. While it does not have restrictions on who can license slot games, it does seem to be retired sports stars and events for more mature audiences, which get the go-ahead. With the national sport being soccer, there are no current stars endorsing games as this is seen as marketing to younger audiences.
For now, it seems fans of slots and sports must wait a little longer. Once legal online casinos are in place, some of these games may become available. From here, with such a lucrative audience, it is sure that New Zealand-based sports slots will appear, if legislation and laws permit it.