UNO, Hasbro & the Rise of Nostalgic Table Games
A new UNO pop-up at the Palms isn’t about gambling, but it might be a sign of things to come. With Hasbro’s deal with table games innovator Galaxy Gaming and more IP rumored to follow, childhood classics could be the next big thing in casino pits.
Key Facts:
- A UNO Social Club pop-up is coming to the Palms this summer.
- Despite some initial confusion, there will be no gambling, at least not yet.
- But many other family game night classics are being reimagined as gambling titles.
- Table games now tapping into classic IP licensing, like slots did before them.
From classic movies like The Wizard of OZ, to cult TV hits like The Walking Dead, to fading rock legends like KISS, the slots industry has long reimagined intellectual property rights into catchy games and even multi-title franchises.
So it wasn’t a huge surprise to see the announcement from The Palms that they would be hosting the first-ever UNO Social Club at the Las Vegas resort later this summer. And you can expect many more UNO pop-up events around the country this Summer and Fall.
We created UNO Social Clubs to reimagine what game night can be—bringing people together for real-world fun, connection, and a bit of friendly competition– Ray Adler/ Mattel, Head of Games, Press Release
However, unlike slot machines based on pop-culture IP, what you shouldn’t expect from this UNO event is a chance to gamble, at least not yet. While the announcement sparked online chatter that Las Vegas might be debuting a new table game, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This event is simply about people gathering to play UNO for fun. It’s a well-funded marketing event and branded celebration, part nostalgia, part nightlife, but with no chips and no betting. However, the market has indeed shown some interest in bringing games like this to the casino floor.
Live Dealer Games Spark Innovation
While slot machines were the first to tap into big-name media properties, the live dealer game shows have been reworking classic brands for modern casino floors. This live-streamed content has shown the ability to reinvent table games as something completely new.
Titles like Monopoly Live and Deal or No Deal Live began to blur the line between slot mechanics and table play, adding human hosts, oversized props, and often crazy, over-the-top interactive bonus rounds that aimed to capture the whole game-night vibe.
Their success demonstrated to operators that nostalgia can still sell, or at least drive interest, especially when paired with strong visual cues and the familiar rulesets of these classic games, with a slight twist for gambling action.
Now, a growing number of developers are taking that same approach and applying it to actual table games. One of the most significant recent moves occurred just weeks ago, when Galaxy Gaming struck a major licensing deal with Hasbro.
Battleship Blackjack Coming Soon?
In early July, Galaxy Gaming and Hasbro announced a landmark licensing agreement, which granted the Las Vegas-based game designer and supplier exclusive global rights to develop casino table games based on iconic Hasbro titles, including Monopoly, Yahtzee, and Battleship.
Hasbro also announced exclusive global deals with Evolution for online live casino shows and slots, and Sci Play for all of their IP content in the social casino space.
Unlike earlier slot adaptations of these brands, Galaxy’s deal focuses on table games and electronic table formats. This opens up the idea of Battle Ship Blackjack or Monopoly Roulette coming to a table game pit near you.
The company plans to debut prototypes as soon as October at G2E 2025, although they are currently tight-lipped about any actual plans. Full casino rollouts are expected the following year, with new games expected to continue hitting the floors for years, as no exact expiration timeline for the deal was given.
This marks one of the first serious pushes to bring beloved family game-night staples directly into the table games space, with licensed side bets, branded layouts, and possibly even dealer-led narratives built around gameplay and rules players already know by heart.
If successful, it almost certainly won’t be the last. From Clue to Connect 4, and who knows, maybe even UNO, the next wave of table game innovation might not come from another tired side bet spinoff of blackjack or another hopelessly derivative poker game, but instead from some dusty shelf of your childhood closet.
Game Night Goes Pro
It’s still very early days, but the momentum that slots and live dealer innovation have begun to bring to the table games pit is real. With players craving more than just cards and chips, and operators eager to stand out in rows of the same old blackjack and baccarat games, classic IP may be the missing piece.
The numbers still need to work, and it’s unclear whether nostalgia draws in table games players like it does slots fans. But if it does, childhood classics might just become the casino floor’s next big earners. Connect Four next to Craps? Yahtzee as the next Sig-Bo? Crazier things have happened in Las Vegas.
