“Image Credit: Freepik Building up to 2025, online casinos have evolved past mere classic slots and roulette wheels. They come across more as a digital playground — a laboratory facilitating the fusion of gambling, gaming, and pop culture. This interesting trend has, at its core, online casinos partnering with major entertainment brands to create magic.”, — write: hollywoodlife.com
Image Credit: Freepik Building up to 2025, online casinos have evolved past mere classic slots and roulette wheels. They come across more as a digital playground — a laboratory facilitating the fusion of gambling, gaming, and pop culture. This interesting trend has, at its core, online casinos partnering with major entertainment brands to create magic.
And it just might be an understatement to say that they’ve merely got our attention as intended. These entertainment-driven crossovers are setting new standards for how online casinos attract and engage players like us. Movie franchises. Music legends. Even celebrities and influencers.
These collaborations demonstrate the dynamic nature of brands in their pursuit of the ultimate prize: your engagement. In this piece, our Slotozilla experts take a brief look at some of the top iGaming collaborations and their impact on the industry.
Blockbuster Collaborations Between iGaming Brands and the Music Industry Collaborations between the online casino industry and world of music are more common than most realise. If you take a long and hard look at the industry, you’ll see how deep the unique relationship between these two runs.
However, there are some really high-profile partnerships that you just cannot miss. This section takes a quick look at some of these blockbuster moves that have been headline-worthy in both stature and impact.
NetEnt’s Branded Rock Slots Series Rather than partner with a single brand, NetEnt sets the bar high with an all-out celebration of the rock genre. Its branded Rock Slots Series further immortalises a number of entertainment icons with themed slots. It comprises a number of games, each modelled after a special rock performer or group. Featured legends include Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motörhead. Each feature has a corresponding slot designed with famous songs, iconic performances, band trivia, and memorabilia woven into gameplay. The immersive details of the series mean you’re not just playing slot games — you’re attending a gamified concert!
BGaming X Elvis Presley Despite passing away in 1977, Elvis Presley has remained a huge name in the entertainment industry. The “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” continues to have a profound impact on pop culture, a fact reaffirmed quite recently.
In 2020, BGaming launched “Elvis Frog in Vegas,” which remains one of its most popular slots to date. This unique slot game humorously follows the Elvis Frog, dressed and represented as Elvis Presley, as it rocks Vegas to the marrow. Due to its smashing success, the game has also had two sequels released — Aloha King Elvis and Elvis Frog Trueways.
Drake X Stake.com One of the crossover events that has got the most tongues wagging is Drake’s headline-grabbing relationship with Stake.com. The Canadian rapper has significantly contributed to the casino’s popularity through livestreams and his multi-million-dollar bets, which he posts on social media.
As part of the collaboration, Drake offers players exclusive promotions and giveaways through the platform. Deals like these and similar ones, including popular 7 Bit casino codes, give players a chance to earn added value, boost their bankrolls, and make the most of their gaming time
According to the Financial Times, Forbes reported that the partnership was worth approximately $100,000 per year for Drake. And aside from the obvious cash benefits, it also affords the celebrity a unique way to engage fans and casuals alike.
There are still many debates and regulatory concerns about celebrities openly promoting gambling, as seen with Drake. However, we cannot deny the success of the relationship on the business front.
The Hollywood and iGaming Affair As we’ve seen in the preceding section, the music industry has made some prominent marks in the online casino industry. However, that is not the only instance of collaboration between the iGaming and entertainment sectors.
Hollywood brings an equally strong and sweet taste into the mix with movies, TV series, comics, and animations, among others. And as you’d expect, some of them have garnered immense levels of success and popularity. They include:
Microgaming X Lara Croft — Tomb Raider After Angelina Jolie burned her iconic performance into our minds in the 2001 release, Tomb Raider, Microgaming swung into action. It finally released Lara Croft — Tomb Raider in 2004 as the first licensed branded slot game in the world. You could say it laid the foundation for the crossover dynamic between the iGaming and entertainment industries. This epic slot was predictably a hit, and the brand remains popular among iGaming enthusiasts to this day. Other iterations have been released, including the 2019 “Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs” slot.
Playtech X DC Comics We all love our superheroes, and the online casino industry knows it. So what better way to grab attention than by weaving them into slot games? Playtech keys into this dynamic with a stunning collaboration with DC Comics.
This deal has seen Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and other Justice League heroes make their slot debuts. The plotlines, famous soundtracks, and relatable symbols make these slots key perfectly into the DC Universe.
This perfect execution reflects Playtech’s experience with other entertainment brands. It has partnered with other prominent names, including Warner Bros., Sony Entertainment, and Marvel.
Microgaming X Game of Thrones Game of Thrones is yet another popular franchise that has achieved success in both Hollywood and iGaming. Microgaming played its cards splendidly, designing a fine slot along the series’ plot.
You get to pick your favourite house and gun for the Iron Throne while trying to rack up wealth along the way. With special effects and bonuses that follow the plot, it’s little wonder it’s so popular among fans.
Microgaming X Jurassic Park Microgaming is at it again, getting players roaring with a special collaboration. The giant software provider released the Jurassic Park slot in 2014 based on the fan-favourite movie franchise.
The game features characters from the movies, dinosaurs, and more dinosaurs—all potentially building up to amazing wins. IGT is another software developer famous for its work with the Jurassic Park franchise. However, they are not featured on our list as their products around the franchise are tailored to brick-and-mortar casinos.
Impacts on Players and the Industry Collaborations between the iGaming industry and the entertainment industry are undoubtedly fun. However, they go beyond that — they’re downright transformative. They offer players more engaging and personalized gaming experiences. This is as a result of stronger emotional connection to the gaming content. It also guarantees players’ entertainment utility beyond the game of chance. You could be a slot connoisseur, or even one of the greatest poker players of all time, but nothing beats a slot with a plot.
The industry is also expected to benefit significantly from these collaborations over time. Online casinos begin to record higher onboarding and retention rates due to increased player engagement.
Invariably, software developers and operators also record higher revenue from branded slots. It also opens up the industry to new monetization models, such as exclusive drops and streaming revenue. To provide a more comprehensive perspective, the pros and cons are detailed in the table below.
Pros Cons Increased revenue for providers and operators Fears that it makes gambling content more appealing to underage audiences More engagement value for players Increased regulatory scrutiny on ethical marketing Introduces more diversity into gaming content Gateway to new monetization opportunities Conclusion That about does it for this piece. Music. Movies. Comics. Streaming collaborations are also worthy of an honorable mention. iGaming is undergoing a cultural renaissance, and we have front-row tickets to witness it unfold.
The pop culture and entertainment influences on the online casino industry are here, and they’re only going to get more pronounced. Why? Because iGaming IS entertainment — just a different form of it.