Light & Wonder, Inc. (L&W), a cross-platform global games company, focuses on content and digital markets.
The company’s portfolio of revenue-generating activities primarily includes supplying game content and gaming machines, CMSs, and table game products and services to licensed gaming entities; providing social casino and other online games, including casual gaming, to retail customers; and providing a comprehensive suite of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account mana...
Light & Wonder, Inc. (L&W), a cross-platform global games company, focuses on content and digital markets.
The company’s portfolio of revenue-generating activities primarily includes supplying game content and gaming machines, CMSs, and table game products and services to licensed gaming entities; providing social casino and other online games, including casual gaming, to retail customers; and providing a comprehensive suite of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account management systems, as well as various other iGaming content and services.
The company provides its games, gaming machines, gaming systems, table products, and related products and services in legal gaming jurisdictions worldwide. The manufacture, distribution, provision, and operation of the company’s gaming products and services are subject to regulation and approval by various city, county, state, provincial, federal, tribal, and foreign agencies.
The company is authorized to manufacture, sell, lease, or operate its gaming products and services in approximately 459 jurisdictions worldwide (including jurisdictions that do not require licensing), including approximately 171 international gaming jurisdictions.
Strategy
The company strives to provide high-quality products and services to its customers across all of its business segments. The company has established a strategic roadmap to drive long-term value that consists of growing its market share and leveraging its differentiated position; and driving sustainable growth. With the company’s streamlined organization and vision to be the leading cross-platform global games company, it focuses on the following, supporting its strategic roadmap: creating great content and franchises fully cross-platform, and enabling a seamless player experience; and expanding in high-return markets.
Segments
The company operates through three business segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming.
Gaming segment
The company’s products are installed in all of the major regulated U.S. gaming jurisdictions and are authorized in approximately 171 international gaming jurisdictions. The growth of gaming in land-based venues is driven by the opening of new casinos in both new and existing jurisdictions, and the expansion of existing casinos. In addition, the land-based gaming business is significantly impacted by the rate at which casinos and other gaming operators replace their gaming machines, which depends on a number of factors, including their capital budgets. Virtually all sectors of the gaming industry are impacted by changes in economic conditions that affect players’ disposable incomes.
A substantial portion of the company’s U.K. gaming business benefits from a contract with the large U.K. bookmaker Entain PLC, which represents a significant portion of its U.K. LBO server-based gaming business.
Competition
The company competes primarily with Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd., Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. (‘Aristocrat’), Aruze Gaming America, Inc., Bluberi Gaming USA, Inc., Everi Games, Inc., Incredible Technologies, Inc., International Game Technology (‘IGT’) (a subsidiary of International Game Technology PLC), Inspired Entertainment Inc., Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (‘Konami’), the Novomatic Group of Companies, Interblock Gaming, and PlayAGS, Inc. (‘AGS’).
The company’s principal competitors in CMSs include Aristocrat, IGT, and Konami.
The company also competes with non-PTGs, such as blackjack and baccarat, and several companies that primarily develop and license PTGs, such as AGS, Galaxy Gaming, Inc., and Masque Publishing, Inc.
SciPlay segment
SciPlay is a developer and publisher of digital games on online platforms. SciPlay operates primarily in the social gaming market, which is characterized by gameplay online or on mobile devices that is social, competitive, and self-directed in pace and session length. SciPlay generates a substantial portion of its revenue from in-app purchases in the form of virtual coins, chips, and cards, which players can use to play slot games, table games, or bingo games. Players who install SciPlay’s games typically receive free coins, chips, or cards upon the initial launch of the game, and additional free coins, chips, or cards at specific time intervals. Once obtained, coins, chips, and cards (either free or purchased) cannot be redeemed for cash, nor exchanged for anything other than gameplay within SciPlay’s apps. SciPlay generates additional revenue through advertising arrangements in certain games. Players who install these games receive free, unlimited gameplay that requires viewing periodic in-game advertisements.
SciPlay offers a variety of social casino games, including JACKPOT PARTY Casino, QUICK HIT Slots, GOLD FISH Casino, 88 FORTUNES Slots, MONOPOLY Slots, and HOT SHOT CASINO. SciPlay continues to pursue its strategy of expanding into the online games market. Casual game titles include BINGO SHOWDOWN and Backgammon Live. SciPlay continually develops and tests various new games. SciPlay’s social casino games typically include slots-style gameplay and occasionally include table games-style gameplay, while its casual games blend solitaire-style or bingo gameplay with adventure game features. All of SciPlay’s games are offered and played across multiple platforms, including APPLE, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, AMAZON, and MICROSOFT. SciPlay launched a proprietary direct-to-consumer in-app purchase platform during 2023, with the goals of improving players’ experience and reducing costs of revenue, given the lower payment processing fees and other related expenses for in-app purchases made through the proprietary platform, as compared to the platform fee charged by third-party platforms. In addition to original game content, SciPlay’s content library includes recognizable game content across the company’s other platforms within Gaming and iGaming. This content allows players who enjoy land-based game content to enjoy some of those same titles in SciPlay’s free-to-play games.
A number of trends and opportunities are driving significant changes in digital gaming, which are causing growth in the online and mobile games market, and providing opportunities for SciPlay to grow the company’s social casino games and expand into other areas of the online and mobile games market, such as digital gaming being an engaging form of entertainment, casual games being popular with players, scale being increasingly strategic in order to succeed in mobile gaming, social casino gaming being an attractive market within digital gaming, and additional market opportunities existing within the broader mobile gaming landscape.
Competition
SciPlay’s primary social casino game competitors include Playtika, Playstudios, Product Madness/Big Fish Games (subsidiaries of Aristocrat), DoubleU Games Co., Ltd/Double Down Interactive, GSN Games/Bash Gaming (subsidiaries of Scopely, Inc.), AppLovin Corporation, and Huuuge Games. SciPlay’s competitors in the broader social game market include Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Kabam, Take-Two Interactive, Tencent Holdings, and Rovio.
iGaming segment
The company’s iGaming business segment provides a comprehensive suite of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account management systems, as well as various other iGaming content and services. The majority of the company’s revenue is derived from casino-style game content, including a wide variety of internally developed and branded games, as well as popular third-party provider games. These games are made available to iGaming operators via content aggregation platforms, including the company’s Open Gaming System network that connects players with studios and operators globally, remote gaming servers, and various other platforms. The company also provides its Open Platform System (‘OPS’), a player account management system that offers a wide range of reporting and administrative functions and tools, providing operators full control over all areas of digital gaming operations. Generally, the company hosts the play of its game content, which is integrated with the online casino operators’ websites.
Competition
The company’s primary real-money online casino games competitors include Evolution Gaming, Games Global, IGT, Aristocrat, and Playtech.
Intellectual Property
Certain of the company’s games are based on popular brands licensed from third parties, such as Hasbro, Inc., Warner Bros. Consumer Products Inc., ABG EPE IP LLC, Elvis Presley Enterprises, LLC., Universal Studios, parent company NBC Universal Film and Entertainment, and Netflix, Inc.
Seasonality
Sales of the company’s gaming machines to casinos are generally strongest in the second half of the year (year ended December 31, 2024) and slowest in the first half of the year, while revenue from its Participation gaming machines is generally highest in the spring and summer. Player activity for SciPlay is generally slower in the second and third quarters of the year, particularly during the summer months. Player activity for the company’s iGaming business, specifically digital casino operations, is generally slower in the third quarter during the summer months, and is generally higher in the fourth quarter.
History
The company was incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1984. It was formerly known as Scientific Games Corporation and changed its name to Light & Wonder, Inc. in 2022.