The “Irish” slot theme is a well-trodden path in the casino sector. Some of the biggest games have used this theme and while they aren’t always the best, there are some crackers out there. We’ll look at the top 5 before diving deeper into the cultural depictions and rules.
5. Irish Luck—Eyecon
Irish Luck is a simple but enjoyable Irish-themed slot with 25 paylines, a maximum payout of 3,000x, and a few bonus rounds. Among the scattering of Irish-themed symbols, you’ll find a Lucky Leprechaun Bonus and Fairy Bonus.
The former is a “Pick-Me” style feature while the latter gives you a shot at collecting multipliers of up to 100x. It’s not as elaborate as some of the other games on this list, but it serves as a good introduction to Irish-themed slot machines.
4. Rainbow Riches—Barcrest (Light & Wonder)
Rainbow Riches was developed by Barcrest, a studio that has since changed hands a couple of times. It’s a classic, and a slot that has inspired countless copycats. In fact, some of the slots listed in this guide clearly took inspiration from Rainbow Riches.
On the surface, it’s fairly simple, but dig deeper and you’ll find a “Pick-Me” bonus in the shape of wishing wells, a massive bonus wheel feature unlocked by pots of gold, and the famous Road to Riches round. The latter starts players on a literal road of riches and tasks them with spinning a wheel to determine whether they advance (and increase their potential payout) or stop (and collect). The more scatters you get to unlock this feature, the greater the potential rewards will be.
3. Lucky Leprechaun—Microgaming
Lucky Leprechaun is one of the aforementioned Rainbow Riches style slots. It was created a few years later though and benefits from slightly better graphics. The maximum payout is also high.
Features include the Trail O’ Fortune bonus and a free spins round. There is also a wild. The symbols are a little different from other Irish-themed slot machines. There is a leprechaun, of course, but the obligatory four-leaf clover and horseshoe have been replaced by a smoking pipe and a fiddle. Of course, there are pints of Guinness as well.
2. Wish Upon a Leprechaun Megaways—Blueprint Gaming
Created by Blueprint Gaming, a favourite with some of our casino reviewers, this slot comes loaded with the iconic BTG Megaways mechanic. It was released in 2019, a number of years after the titles above, and it undoubtedly has the best graphics.
Pots of gold scatters lead to free spins and there is also a built-in Cascading Reels feature, along with the possibility of triggering up to 117,649 paylines. Keep an eye out for the mystery symbol, which can appear in any positive and switch to a main symbol, and the modifiers, which include re-spins and additional mystery symbols.
1. Finn and the Swirly Spin—NetEnt
This 2017 NetEnt slot took the web by storm a few years ago. It even spawned a sequel, although, in our opinion, the original is the best.
It has some of the usual stereotypically Irish imagery, including a leprechaun by the side of the reels, a rainbow in the background, and symbols like four-leaf clovers and horseshoes.
Pretty standard…so what makes it unique?
Well, as the name suggests, it adopts a unique “swirly” spin feature. The game depicts a maze-like pattern. There is a 4×4 square of symbols wrapped around a 3×3 square with a single space in the centre. Payouts are triggered via horizontal or vertical connections of three symbols, and that’s when things get interesting.
Every winning symbol is destroyed and removed from the grid, moving a key—located at the start of the grid—closer to the centre. If wins keep landing, the key will eventually make it to the middle and unlock the main bonus. There are several features to trigger at this point, and the more times you activate the feature, the better they will become. There are also random wilds that trigger after winning spins.
It’s unusual and it’s creative. It adds a unique spin to Irish-themed slots—a unique swirly spin.
Cultural Stereotypes in Gaming (and the rules around them)
It’s hard to imagine Activision creating a game about the history and culture of Ireland, and filling it with nothing but pints of Guinness, leprechauns, and four-leaf clovers. The cancel-culture mob would descend on them like vultures on KFC. But we all give the casino sector a pass, and why not? It’s done in a playful and somewhat responsible way, and while it does rely on stereotypes, it makes sense when you consider that developers only have a handful of symbols to create and need something instantly recognisable.
You might argue that a slot machine about Scotland should focus on rugged landscapes, native poetry, midges, and Irn Bru, but outside of the UK, it’s seen as a country of Scotch, tartan, shortbread, and ginger hair, so that’s what you’d likely see in a slot.
As with everything else in the online gambling sector, there are some strict rules that developers must follow. Section 16.3.15 of the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) code, for instance, states that games must not “exploit cultural beliefs or traditions about gambling or luck”. We’re not sure where lucky horseshoes and four-leaf clovers fit into this rule, but it seems to be more of a reference to statements and practices that encourage gambling or suggest the player will win.
In other words, a slot machine with imagery of four-leaf clovers might be acceptable, but telling players they should gamble and will win if they find a four-leaf clover is not acceptable.
Of course, we’re not the experts on this, but it’s good to know there are rules in place to stop such manipulative practices.
Summary: The Best Irish Slot Games
Irish slot games are a mash of Irish stereotypes soaked in emerald green and dotted with the occasional leprechaun. They’re fun (if somewhat offensive), and as the above list shows, there are some top titles among them.
