Online slots are not made for children; there is an age limit of 18, so clearly you need to be an adult to be able to play, even on demo mode. Children shouldn’t be gambling, and it’s illegal for them to do so. But despite this big rule – the one rule that everyone knows when it comes to slots and other forms of gambling – many online slots do look as though they would appeal to children. They are bright and colourful, they have catchy tunes, they look like other computer games, and they can often be based on films and books that children love. Even the characters are cartoonish and child friendly in many games.
Children could easily be attracted to slots, but luckily they are protected for the most part by advertising laws, and by their parents making sure they are doing what they are meant to do. But despite this, what games were seen as just too child friendly and therefore were banned?
Fairytale Legends Red Riding Hood
Fairytale Legends Red Riding Hood was a game created and released by NetEnt. Clearly, the theme of the game is a children’s story, so the slot is already on shaky ground. Add this to the imagery which includes cute cartoon versions of Red Riding Hood, the wolf, and Grandma, and you’ve got what would, in other circumstances, be an ideal children’s game. Except, that is, for the fact that this is an online slot and children shouldn’t be going anywhere near it.
It’s a shame really; the game itself was a fun one to play. It had three rows across five reels and 20 fixed paylines, but as well as this there was a number of bonus games too. These included the fairy surprise, the fairy wild spin, and the fairy magic spin (again, appealing to children because which child doesn’t like fairies?).
Hansel and Gretel
It seems there is a major issue with slot designers creating games that feature characters from children’s stories; this appears to be quite an error and will often result in a ban as it did with Hansel and Gretel, again made by NetEnt who must have been going through a fairytale theme at the time.
Kids love the story of Hansel and Gretel mainly thanks to the incredible idea of a real gingerbread house. So by showcasing this element, and by making the rest of the game very highly animated, it was sure to appeal to youngsters if they were to see it. It plays in the same way as Red Riding Hood, although this game only has 10 paylines rather than 20. Not that it matters, since it no longer exists.
Fairies Forest
Even the title here sounds like it would be more fun for children rather than grown adults, and that was just part of the problem with Fairies Forest by NextGen. The entire game is filled with lovely, pretty, colourful fairies, and even the very many fairy bonuses and the five reels couldn’t stop this game from being banned for being too much temptation for children.
