2020 has been a particularly interesting year for everyone in the gambling community, from casino staff and operators to players missing the social aspect of gaming. So, this Christmas is all about games that will spread a little joy and get you in the holiday spirit.
From fun holiday-themed video slots to Christmas lottery games and classics like bingo, here are the best types of festive games for gamblers to check out this holiday season.
Christmas Lottery Games
What would you do if you become the next Christmas lottery winner? Would you go on an all-inclusive cruise, buy a fancy ride, or purchase a vacation home? There’s no limit to what you can do with the lottery’s million-dollar prize money. It’s certainly a great way to start the new year on the right foot.
Christmas lotteries are distinctively lucrative and fairly different from traditional scratch-offs games in a number of ways, all of which may benefit you as a gambler this holiday season. Obviously, holiday lottery games are played only once every year, meaning they attract many players that would otherwise not play regular lotteries.
Even though Christmas lottery games do vary greatly, they typically don’t have rollovers, a standard feature in traditional lotteries. What that means is that there must be a jackpot winner once the lottery has been drawn.
Their jackpot prizes are usually much larger than what you’d find in a standard lottery, including those that roll over many times. In fact, it’s quite common for holiday lotteries to offer billions in total prizes. Take the Spanish Christmas Lottery, for instance; its grand jackpot prize —which is called El Gordo (or the ‘big one’) — came at a staggering €2.4 billion, or around $2.9 billion, in 2019.
As if that isn’t fantastic enough, the probability of winning the jackpot is actually much higher than the odds of striking a big win in a regular lotto. That’s partly thanks to the higher number of bet ways and simple rules.
Christmas-themed Slot Games
Inspired by the likes of Santa Claus, Scrooge, Rudolph, Grinch, and everything else you fancy about the yuletide season, Christmas slot games are amazingly fun and perfect for any lover of the season. And the best part is that there are plenty of superb titles to choose from, with a really nice selection from Microgaming, Play
Are you a fan of the famous novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? Get a good dose of Christmas cheer with slot games based on this enchanting tale, such as Microgaming’s Scrooge, Playtech’s Ghosts of Christmas, or Betsoft’s namesake A Christmas Carol.
Is the luck of Christmas on your side? Every gambler should also take for a spin other fantastic Christmas-themed titles like Microgaming’s sensational slot Deck the Halls, Playtech’s Santa Surprise, Push Gaming’s Fat Santa, NextGen’s Foxin Wins A Very Foxin’ Christmas, Play’n Go’s Merry Xmas, Pragmatic Play’s Christmas Carol Megaways, and NetEnt’s Santa vs. Rudolf slot. Find more fun and exciting Christmas-inspired slot games here.
The beauty of Christmas-themed slots lies in their charming symbols, great visuals, and spellbinding sound effects like the Twelve Days of Christmas soundtrack. At around this time, most online casinos pack their favorite slots with free spins, free games, and lots of other amazing freebies.
In line with the icy atmosphere, you may also want to play some of the best ice-hockey-themed slot games. They are jam-packed with free spins, re-spins, multipliers, bonus games, customizable paylines, and a charming theme.
Poker Games
One of the best things about poker games is that there are so many variants, styles, and versions, both offline and online. Naturally, you’ll want to practice social distancing, so it makes sense to log into your favorite online casino and play video poker.
If you’re a casual gambler out to have fun and perhaps land a few big wins, we highly recommend low-volatility poker variants like Heads-Up Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Deuces Wild, All American, Bonus Poker, and Jacks or Better. Just like baccarat, roulette, or blackjack, these poker games give you strong odds of winning consistently, although wins are usually small in value.
Medium-variance poker games give you a fair chance of landing wins which are usually modest in value. They are a great choice for pretty much any gambler but don’t expect massive jackpot wins.
With high volatility poker games, it’s very much a case of high-reward, patience, and high-risk. You’ve got a chance of winning life-changing sums, but they come far in between. Loose Deuces, White Hot Aces, Bonus Deuces Wild, Double Bonus Poker, and Triple Bonus Plus Poker are prime examples of high-variance versions.
Scratch Card Games
Let’s face it; the chances of landing the lottery are very slim, if not nearly impossible. Did you know that the odds of scooping the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million? The odds of winning the grand prize of the New York’s Mega Millions Lottery are even more difficult to beat, at an astounding 1 in 302.6 million.
A more forgiving alternative for gamblers who are feeling particularly lucky during the Christmas holiday comes in the form of scratch card games. Because scratch cards have a wide range of prizes and ticket values, you will have more than 60 percent chances of making your money back.
Scratch card games tend to pay out more frequently. As such, you will be able to maintain your bankroll longer when you play scratch cards than lottery games. If you want to dramatically increase your winning odds, buy in bulk, play like slots, and avoid the cheapest scratch cards.
Christmas Bingo
Gamblers will love playing Bingo with friends, coworkers, or family because pretty much everyone can indulge in this game of chance. It’s arguably one of the best games for older adults.
You can choose to play online Bingo or print out dozens of Christmas Bingo boards, featuring gingerbread, snowflakes, candy canes, and other festive symbols that you put everyone in the holiday spirit.
