TV Hit “Narcos” Has Now Hit Online Casinos as a Slot Game

Narcos (2015-2017) is widely regarded as one of the hardest-hitting drama series around. The show, found on Netflix, charts the real-life downfall of Pablo Escobar, with the story unfolding through the eyes of the DEA agents tasked with taking him down, and juxtaposed with the kingpin’s own struggles with life, family and, of course other drug lords. 

The series has won widespread critical acclaim, as has its prequel series Narcos: Mexico. Some have criticised a sense of too much sympathy towards the drug cartels in the series, but, from Scarface to Goodfellas, that’s always been the case in portrayals of crime on screen. Regardless, there is a gritty authenticity to the show that makes it compelling view. If you haven’t yet seen it, you should really check it out.  

Narcos Hit Casinos in Spring 2019

While merchandising might not be an obvious angle for a show based on such a premise (Star Wars it ain’t), fans of the series might be interested to know that software developers have created a slot game of the same name. It’s not a knock off product designed to cash in on the show’s success, rather its officially-licensed casino game made in partnership with Narcos’ producers, Gaumont International Television. 

The slot is created by NetEnt (no relation to Netflix), one of the top casino gaming software developers in the world. You can see they have put a lot of stock in the game’s chances of being a hit, as they launched it to great fanfare along with teaser trailers – almost like a Hollywood movie. 

Branded casino games made in partnership with studios is nothing new. From Justice League to Grease, The X-Files to the Love Boat, you’ll find endless examples of licensed games. Those games and the new Narcos slot, you can discover them at Mansioncasino.com, which stocks branded games from NetEnt and its big rivals like Playtech and Microgaming. Narcos is something of a slight departure from the norm from NetEnt, as the developer usually concentrates on creating its own content from scratch. Yet, there is an increasing trend in the casino industry to get some sort of branding on to products.   

Game Stays True to TV Series

As to pertinent questions: Is Narcos slot any good? Is it likely to attract fans of the show who have never played at an online casino before? The answers are: “Yes” and “probably”. Narcos has become something of a cult hit, and, regardless of what you think of him, anything relating to Pablo Escobar is always a source of interest. Key to the game’s attraction, however, is that the developers have not simply stuck a few images of the TV show onto the reels and left it there. There are various special features related to the show, which complement the game. Enough big prizes are on offer to satisfy serious casino players too. 

If you are going to critique the game, then it would follow the same criticisms of the television series; namely, it glorifies (to an extent) the gangster life and, certainly in terms of a casino game, it is quite violent with depictions of shooting and murder. Yet, as we have mentioned, that’s not something specific to Narcos. In the end, if you are a fan of the series and playing casino games, you have hit the jackpot with Narcos. At the very least, NetEnt should be credited with creating something that looks and plays quite different to many other casino games.