Where Balls Collide: Live Football Roulette

Football has had its fair share of adaptations and ‘related properties’ over the years. One of Hollywood's earliest efforts to capture drama on the pitch was Escape to Victory (1971), starring an all-star acting cast of Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Max von Sydow, alongside an equally all-star football cast of Pelé, Bobby Moore, Ossie Ardiles, and plenty more.

That movie gave rise to Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Mean Machine (2001), and the bizarre kung fu flick Shaolin Soccer (2001). There are plenty of others, although it’s fair to say football isn’t among the most popular of Hollywood genres.

Best-sellers List

As a sport, football has arguably enjoyed better fortunes in interactive media. By August of 2025, NME already had EA Sports FC 25 at the top of the year's best-sellers list. Two other sports games, NBA 2525 and F1 25, also made the grade, at 16th and 17th, respectively.

When analytics firm Newzoo released its annual Year in Review on December 18, EA's FC 26 held the top console spot by revenue. In fact, half of the top ten represented sports, including College Football 26. Perhaps inevitably, the PC charts had just one entry from the sports genre. It’s easy to guess what it is (EA FC 26, again).

This impressive showing, some three decades after 1993's FIFA International Soccer, the first entry in the franchise, suggests that nobody is getting bored with football on TV anytime soon - in games or otherwise. Yet, there’s always room for new and different ways to experience the sport.

Roulette

Developers in the iGaming niche are arguably most associated with slot games, a simple, one-click experience that requires the player to match rows of symbols. These come in an eclectic range of themes, such as the Irish mythology-themed Rainbow Riches, and even football, e.g. Microgaming's Football Penny Roller.

One of the more recent additions to the canon is Live Football Roulette, a game that mixes the classic table game with football themes and a real-time score ticker.

Rules-wise, it’s a European variant of roulette (one zero pocket, as opposed to two in the American game) played in front of a live dealer. The presenter will take care of the gameplay, spinning the wheel and announcing results.

Live Football Roulette includes a special option called a side bet. These are wagers that win if certain things happen in the base game. In this case, five random numbers are selected on each spin once the Goal Side Bet is made. A multiplier of up to 100x is added to each. If the ball lands in any of these pockets, the multiplier is added to the player's winnings.

Statistics

Stat hounds benefit from a separate window in Live Football Roulette containing all the current goings-on in the leagues. These include matches, standings, the teams and players involved, and a dedicated statistics section. Of course, everything is drawn to match the theme. The backdrop is a player’s eye view of a stadium.

Football has a lengthy history, both on the silver screen and on smaller alternatives. Experimentation keeps the sport fresh beyond the chalked bounds of the field.