NFL Super Bowl Slots App Blurs Line With Gambling

The NFL’s Super Bowl Slots mobile app, which launched in August 2025, is not legally classified as gambling, but it can cause or lead to real addiction and harm to users.

The league partnered with Aristocrat Leisure Limited, based in Australia and Las Vegas, to create the game, available globally.

The NFL and Aristocrat said that the product is the “first-ever NFL-licensed free-to-play social casino mobile game.” NFL-themed slots have been in play at U.S. brick-and-mortar casinos since 2023.

The product is a form of simulated gambling, which carries potentially high risks of compulsive use. The NFL slots app can also serve as a gateway to full-fledged gambling, especially among users who are not yet old enough to gamble.

The NFL is a partner with the U.S. sports gambling industry, which took $13.7 billion (GGR) from Americans in 2024.

Let’s see what’s behind the NFL Super Bowl Slots app.

How the NFL’s Slots App Works

While the Super Bowl slots app allows limited use without paying money, users are prompted to purchase additional in-app currency to play various slot titles with NFL themes. You cannot redeem virtual currency for cash or prizes.

The NFL slots app is what is sometimes called a closed-loop ecosystem (spend-only).

Nonetheless, the app can exploit user anxiety related to FOMO (fear of missing out). The virtual gold coins are on “sale” from the moment a person starts using the app.

You receive five million coins upon downloading and playing the app. You can purchase more coins in packages ranging from $4.99 to $99.99.

The cheapest currency package might not seem like a lot of money (depending on the country), but compulsive use of the app can quickly lead to high spending. The NFL slots app features what are sometimes called micro-transactions.

Push notifications are another method for fueling a false sense of urgency to use the app.

Although the slot games do not feature real-money wagers, the product still produces the dangerous near-miss effect. Arguably, compulsive use is baked into the app’s design.

Lack of Age Verification

Dr. Sally Gainsbury, the Director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic in the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, said a key concern with a “social” slots product is the lack of age checks.

“The key distinction between a branded slot and a social game is that even though the social game is 18+, there are no actual age checks, and this is still below the age to gamble in most states,” Gainsbury told Gambling Harm.

The developer claims the NFL slots app is for users 18+, but the Google Play Store content rating indicates “Teen.” App stores do not perform hard ID verification. To muddle the situation even further, the App Store shows the game as 17+.

Young players usually aren’t able to fully understand the difference between a so-called social slot game and the real-money version.

“Social games have no actual age verification, and these slots are a close simulation of real gambling,” Gainsbury continued. “My research shows that most youth can’t tell the difference. For many, social games make them want to gamble and think that they will win, as social slots have inflated payouts.”

Some users of social casinos have sued Google, Apple, and Meta over gambling harm.

NFL ‘Social’ Casino

The app brings the NFL into the world of so-called social casinos. How is playing slots on your phone a social experience?

It’s not. In this context, the term “social” is misleadingly used as a replacement for saying that the game is just for (purported) fun. In other words, it’s not a real-money game — or gambling.

There are other tricks to make the app seem like it’s social.

At launch, there was not yet a leaderboard for users to compare their results with those of other users. However, the app has an “achievements” section that allows users to track their progress playing slots, which they could share on Facebook or Instagram.

The app reportedly will also have slot tournaments, allowing users to compete against each other for rankings.

Ed Kiang, vice president of video gaming at the NFL, said the app keeps fans “engaged” while also “enjoying the liveliness and enthusiasm that is embedded in social casino entertainment.” 

The words “liveliness and enthusiasm” here are code for habit-forming, which is itself a euphemism for compulsive use and addiction.

Micah Parsons Promotes NFL Super Bowl Slots

NFL linebacker Micah Parsons joined the product as a brand ambassador. Celebrity endorsements of addictive products are highly problematic.

The league did not disclose the terms of his product endorsement. Parsons didn’t make a public statement for the app’s launch.

The game also lets users customize the experience by selecting their favorite team. The app includes video clips of old NFL games.

The app tries to make a slot game feel as close as possible to watching an NFL game.

The emotional investment can be high, as one user of the product wrote in a Google review that he felt like he was “representing my team.”

Risk of NFL Gambling Relapse

Other gambling research from Australia shows that people with existing problem gambling behaviors are most at risk from using an app like NFL slots.

More than half of U.S. online sports bettors have chased their losses, and roughly two-thirds of NFL bettors have lost more than they intended. Sports betting addiction rates are high.

Once a user has developed a problematic behavioral pattern, that habit is likely to generalize to other game forms. The NFL slots app is a potential source of relapse for many former NFL gamblers.

Coupled with the recent launch of Robinhood NFL betting, NFL gamblers in recovery are facing more challenges than ever before.

Should You Use the NFL Super Bowl Slots App?

You should not use the NFL Super Bowl Slots app if you are dealing with anxiety or depression.

This is a good rule of thumb, but it’s ​​not medical advice; so please consider consulting with a clinician.

Still, we can say that habit-forming products like the NFL slots platform can be risky for people with underlying mental health issues.

Don’t use the app if you’ve struggled with impulsivity and compulsive behavior in any aspect of your life.

Still, even healthy individuals can become addicted to the NFL slots app because the product is designed with features known to drive repeated play. Setting a gambling budget for NFL-related products is often ineffective for user safety.

Gambling Harm recommends avoiding the use of the NFL slots app for most individuals. There is no finish line or end zone with this product — just nudges to fuel your compulsive use.