Universal overlay games in an electronic gaming environment

A system for displaying events on a gaming device, comprising:

• a gaming device including a processor, memory containing software instructions for carrying out a base game, and a display, wherein the display enables simultaneous presentation of the base game and an displayable event;
• a server including a processor and memory;
• and
• a module in communication with the gaming device and the server, wherein the module enables requesting and receiving the displayable event, and wherein the module enables display to present the displayable event on the display of the gaming device.

A gaming system for presenting displayable events on a gaming device, the system comprising:

• one or more gaming devices, each gaming device including a processor, memory containing software instructions for carrying out a base game, and a display that enables simultaneous presentation of the base game and an displayable event, wherein the simultaneous presentation of the base game and an displayable event is adjacent, overlapping, spaced in close proximity, or combinations thereof;
• a server having a memory storing one or more displayable events, wherein the server is connected to the one or more gaming devices via a network, and wherein a displayable event is distributed to at least one gaming device via the network in response to a request;
• and
• an overlay module connected to the one or more gaming devices and the server via the network, wherein the overlay module initiates presentation of the displayable event on the display of the gaming device, and wherein the displayable event is presented independent of the base game.