Five Sports-Themed Slots to Play While The Olympics Is Un-derway

The 2020 Summer Olympics are in full swing. After being delayed by a year, they’re currently taking place in Tokyo. The Japanese capital is hosting the world’s top athletes, who are eager to win some medals and go down in the history books.

Here at LuckyStar Casino, we’ve got lots of great slot games themed to sports. When you’re not watching the competitors vying for victory, why not play some sports-themed slots? We’ve put together a list of five recommendations - be sure to give them a try for a taste of Olympic success.

Usain Bolt

This slot, like the man it’s based on, needs no introduction. Usain Bolt is widely considered to be the world’s best sprinter. The Jamaican won gold in both the 100 m and 200 m races in three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016). He’s also got two gold 4 x 100 m relay medals to his name. Thanks to his outstanding achievements, he has the rather fitting nickname of ‘Lightning Bolt’.

Though Bolt is now officially retired, he’s still incredibly popular. He continues to work in advertising and sponsorship. He’s also worked with the provider Ganapati to create a self-titled slot.

The main symbol to look out for is the fully stacked wild. It depicts Bolt himself and is three positions high. Whenever it appears, two effects are triggered:

• A high-paying symbol turns wild
• An extra row is added and you’re given a respin

If stacked wilds keep landing, you could end up with 12 rows and 108 paylines to win on.

What’s more is the slot gives you the opportunity to purchase one of three bonuses:

• Wild Feature. Pay 10x your bet and on your next spin, a fully stacked wild is guaranteed to appear
• Extend Reels. Pick a number of rows from 4 to 12. The next spin is played with that many rows active. The more rows you choose, the greater the cost
• Ultimate Spin. Pay 400x your bet for 12 rows and five fully stacked wilds appearing on your next spin

The Usain Bolt slot is well worth checking out. It’s an exciting and fast-paced slot that’s very well themed. It also does a brilliant job of celebrating the world’s best sprinter, from the gold symbols spelling out ‘Bolt’ to the appearances Bolt himself makes.

Ping Pong King

The next slot on our list is Ping Pong King, which is also from Ganapati. The fast-paced sport ping pong - also known as table tennis - is the inspiration. The setting is a highly anticipated match with loud and lively spectators looking on. Funnily enough, some pandas have come along to watch too.

Before you start playing, you get to select an opponent. The one you pick determines the slot’s volatility and its payout rates.

• Fancy-dressed Girl. Pick this option for a low volatility. Payouts should be regular and small
• Boy with a Nunchuck. Select the nunchuck-wielding boy for a balanced experience. Expect mid-sized wins fairly often
• Two Pandas. Choose the pandas for highly volatile play. You’re less likely to win, but the symbols have the highest payouts

You’re able to change the opponent at any time.

The slot’s main feature is the free spins round. This comes into play whenever three or more scatters land:

• Three Scatters = 10 free spins
• Four Scatters = 15 free spins
• Five Scatters = 20 free spins

In the free spins round wilds and scatters are replaced by bonus symbols. Land three of these and you’ll trigger the bonus game. This gives you a prize worth up to 1,000x your bet.

All Sports

This online slot from Golden Rock Studios showcases five sports: basketball, football, golf, horse racing and tennis. It’s set at a multi-sports venue and is presented with bright, colourful graphics. The reels are attached to a hovering scoreboard.

Athletes practising the slot’s five highlighted sports are the high-paying symbols. The symbols with lower wins are the playing card ranks A-10. There are 40 paylines you can win on and they’re covered by all bets.

Here’s a summary of the slot’s special features:

• Random Wild Multiplier. If four medal wilds land on reel 3, a multiplier is applied to your winnings. This can be up to x5 in the base game or up to x10 in the free spins round
• Free Spins Trigger. If four trophies land on reel 1, you get respins. Fill all other positions with trophies to earn eight free spins
• Hold and Spin. Get a fully stacked symbol on reel 1 in free spins to trigger this feature. You keep getting respins until no new matching symbols appear

The slot’s volatility is medium and its RTP is 96.19%. If you like the sound of it, be sure to give it a spin. The free spins round has the potential to be quite lucrative, so keep your fingers crossed!

Basketball Pro

This is a basketball-themed online slot from Caleta. It’s played on a standard three-row, five-reel grid and has 243 ways to win. The setting is a rowdy basketball court where a match is soon to take place.

All of the slot’s symbols are designed to fit the theme. The high-paying ones are shots of basketball players in action. The symbols with the smaller wins to give are objects associated with the sport. For example, there’s a medal, some sports drinks and a tablet with game strategies marked out.

There are two special features. Here’s a look at what they bring to the table:

• Wild Event. On any random spin, up to two reels will turn wild and give you a guaranteed spin. This can only happen to reels 2, 3 and 4
• Free Spins. Getting three, four or five scatters awards you 15, 20 or 25 free spins respectively. A progressive multiplier increases with every consecutive win. It can reach as high as x10, giving you the chance to win big

If you’d like to play some other Caleta Gaming slots, we’ve got plenty of them in our games collection. Some of our suggestions are Vegas Baby, Hurricash, Frozen Fluffies and Crystal Unicorn.

Winners Gold

The final slot we’re looking at is Winners Gold. It’s one of Spinomenal’s many casino games and it focuses on the concept of winning. The setting is a large sports stadium with a running track. Three sports are represented by the high-paying symbols: basketball, boxing and rhythmic gymnastics.

The slot’s played with 30 paylines active on all spins. Helping you win is the torch wild - it fills in for all standard symbols and can complete or extend winning combinations. The other bonus symbol is the medal scatter. This pays for three to five anywhere.

This slot doesn’t have any special features - there’s no free spins round or pick-me game or anything like that. Instead, it’s all about spinning the reels and hoping to get a win. If you prefer slots with simple gameplay, Winners Gold is suitable for you.

Keep Watching the Olympics

These sports-themed slots are a whole lot of fun to play. When you’re done checking them out, catch up with all the latest Olympics goings-on.

This year’s competition was, of course, meant to take place last year instead. It was postponed because of COVID-19. With the pandemic still ongoing, there were calls to delay the Olympics a second time. There’s certainly reason for this, as the host city of Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency.

Even though the Games are able to go ahead, there are many noticeable differences from previous years’ events. The most apparent is the lack of spectators in stadiums. Everyone involved, from competitors to coaches and venue staff, has to abide by various restrictions and limitations.

There’s no denying that the 2020 Olympics isn’t the same. However, it’s better for it to take place with some changes than for it not to happen at all. Paris will be hosting the next Summer Olympics in 2024 - here’s hoping that by then, everything will be back to normal.

With that said, keep watching the Olympics and let the spirit live on!