Scientific Gaming Corporation has shown in recent months that it intends to turn a new course for its business. Selling its sports and lottery betting businesses was the first moment that signified the gaming giant’s change of path. OpenBet was sold to Endeavour Group Holdings for $1.2bn, while Brookfield Business Partners purchased SG Lottery for $6bn. These were some of the biggest deals to be struck throughout the whole of 2021.
Multiple acquisitions of iGaming content providers then helped explain the exact path in which SG intended to go. Authentic Gaming, Playzido, Lightning Box, and Elk Studios all now sit within its portfolio. Elk Studios, in particular, was a milestone acquisition, and we’ll look into why and what it now means for the future of Scientific Gaming.
Becoming The Complete Global iGaming Content Provider
It’s no surprise that the management team is deciding to make these moves now. The US online casino environment is opening up quickly, with multiple states opening their virtual doors to legalized online gambling. Casino games will be a huge business. Hence, SG has put all its money into several casino software providers from across the world.
Elk Studios is one the top software houses behind industry leaders such as NetEnt and Microgaming, so quality is always guaranteed. Wild Toro is perhaps one of the biggest titles in the Elk back catalog, but many other slots have caused a positive impact on the EU iGaming scene over the past few years. Diablo Reels, Platooners, and Katmandu are all popular titles.
The Swedish studio can now take its hugely successful content into the booming US and CA scene. Elk Studios are no strangers to SG, either. For many years, the two have been partners within the UK and EU markets. So, both parties know exactly what to expect from each other. The outcome now is that Scientific Gaming has a premium set of slots to release into the US.
Elk Studio’s X-iter Feature a Game Changer for SG
Elk has a powerful feature called X-iter, and this has frequently been cited by management at SG as one of the key highlights regarding the acquisition. The X-iter tool lets players preselect various slot modes before spinning the reels. Ultimately, players can choose to play with guaranteed features or activate bonus multipliers from the first spin.
What this brings is a heightened sense of immersion and player choice to what is typically an automated casino game. It is this immersion and innovative thinking and design that has led to Elk being taken over by SG. It will be one of the key driving points as SG pushes its games out into the US and CA online casino markets, along with the continued success worldwide.
Scientific Games Corporation Stock Set to Soar
Many discussions were centered around SG stocks before its plan to release its lottery and sports betting products. There was also a lot of discussion after those sales and where the future of SG was heading. Now, we all know the intentions of Scientific Gaming. So, has the gambling giant made the right moves to hit the ground running?
SG spent several years building its way up to the top, but it racked up some serious debt in the process. The recent sales are all part of the plan to remove those debts and refocus its business on the growing iGaming sector. It’s a risky move, and there have been some doubts over whether the new company structure justifies SG’s current valuation.
In summary, SG’s stock soared high over the last couple of years. It still remains up around 158% for the year, which includes falling 8% on the day it announced those billion-dollar sales. The outlook is still positive, especially with the growing US market, but the books need to be balanced. Those newly acquired studios need to continue releasing premium slot games.
Thankfully, that is precisely what those studios have been doing for years and the reason why they were bought in the first place. The future and SG’s new iGaming business path show all the signs that success will come their way again, but only time will tell.
References:
iGaming Business. “Scientific Games completes acquisition of Elk Studios,” Robert Fletcher, 1 Dec. 2021,
