The ATP rankings are very much seeing a changing of the guard now. Of all of the Big Three, only Novak Djokovic remains among the Top 100. Rafael Nadal will retire at the end of 2024, and Roger Federer officially retired years ago. Now, we see the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev vying for the No. 1 spot. So, were the ATP to follow the trend of making an official slot, it’s tough to say who’d be the best choice to feature.
Seeking More Official Slots Powered by Star Names
Source: Unsplash
Online casinos crave associations to big-name brands, popular IPs, and famous figures. It’s why advertising campaigns and even banners on the websites feature celebrity ambassadors and officially licensed slots. This isn’t just to catch the eye of players, though–it’s also to help earn higher ratings with expert reviewers and platform testers.
You’ll tend to find that many officially-licensed creations feature in the slots libraries of the platforms given high ratings by review portals like CasinoAlpha. This is because, as part of the process, they test at least ten slots from different providers on the site to gauge the quality of the offering. Playing into this will be the branded and licensed slots which, to meet licensing agreement terms, often need to meet a certain standard of quality.
There are many, many officially licensed slot games out there now, but what the iGaming scene severely lacks–given the sport’s perpetual popularity–is a big tennis slot, especially a licensed tennis slot. The main ones out there for now are Centre Court, Tennis Stars, Beach Tennis, and Tennis Champions, none of which boast the additional appeal of featuring one of the ATP’s biggest current or former stars.
Choosing a Face of an ATP Game
Source: Pixabay
Choosing who to put on the front of an ATP slot game to both draw in players and exude quality is tricky due to how many legendary players there are. Generally speaking, though, going for the classics is the formula. The new movies dwarf the returns of the classic Jumanji, and yet, in 2018, NetEnt chose to release their Jumanji slot in the theme of the 1996 release rather than the popular newer films starring Karen Gillan and Dwayne Johnson.
In music, you’ll find branded slots for Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, Motörhead, and even NSYNC, but not for the likes of Taylor Swift or Post Malone. Turn the lens to sports-themed slots, and the focus on all-time greats becomes clearer. The legendary record-breaking boxer Manny Pacquiao has his own slot game, as does Frankie Dettori as part of the Sporting Legends series, and even the WWE Bonus Rumble game leans into stars of the past.
This would suggest that putting one of the ATP’s Big Three in a slot game rather than any of the current contenders for the No. 1 spot in the rankings would be the more suitable choice. Any of Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic could be that star of the show, but akin to the official Guns N’ Roses slot, it may be best to have all three. In the rock band’s game, Axl, Slash, and Duff are all there as feature symbols that enhance the bonus when all three land.
Were the ATP to go ahead with an officially-licensed slot game, not only would casinos welcome the infusion of a popular tennis star, but they could also put their famed Big Three into one game for triple the appeal.
