American lottery and gambling corporation Scientific Games has recently announced that it has acquired Sideplay Entertainment.
Scientific Games is a company that provides casino services to lottery organizations worldwide, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, with its production plant being located in Alpharetta, Georgia. The company produces iGaming products such as electronic card shufflers, electronic and mechanical slot machines, table game theme copyrights, lottery gaming systems, and other lottery-based interactive games.
Scientific Games is also a leading provider of iLottery solutions for over 20 lotteries globally.
Scientific Games’ Acquisition
The industry of iGaming is quickly growing due to the expansion of the global gaming market, as well as the advancement of online and virtual technology. The world of online casino is incredibly competitive at the moment and there are many gaming websites out there that want players to invest in them. These casinos often bring in bonuses and free spins to entice people into using their systems, rewarding new players for using them. As such, many players use online comparison sites to help decide which casino would suit them better.
Sideplay Entertainment is a digital “eInstant” content studio which creates immersive and entertaining games, founded in 2003. Some of its most popular games include Mouse Trap, Sherluck Holmes, and Bubble Burst Bingo. The studio is the main supplier of games to the UK National Lottery, which is one of the largest interactive lotteries in the world, and has launched more than 270 instant win games for lottery operators worldwide.
With this acquisition, Scientific Games hopes to combine the studio’s technology with their own iLottery content to produce new games and expand its share in digital lottery markets around the world. Although the financial terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed, Scientific Games said that if the deal went through as expected, it would help to bring Sideplay content into the Scientific Games portfolio of iLottery games.
The Director of Sideplay, Steve Hickson said: “All of us at Sideplay are thrilled to be joining forces with Scientific Games Lottery Group, one of the world’s leading lottery suppliers. Our goal has always been to be the best at what we do, and this transaction shows we have in fact achieved that level of success. We are excited to leverage Scientific Games’ global lottery footprint and create the future of iLottery together.”
The Future of iLottery
Three weeks ago, Scientific Games also acquired Australian slot company Lightning Box Games, who they had worked with for many years prior, expanding its iLottery portfolio further. Lightning Box works with casino operators across Europe, the US and Canada, with clients including big names such as William Hill, 888, and Sky Bet.
Lottery Group Chief Executive for Scientific Games, Pat McHugh, said of the deal: “We’re excited to welcome Steve Hickson and the entire Sideplay team to Scientific Games Lottery Group, to help us advance our strategy as a growth company, delivering the best retail and digital content platforms and game category services that maximize proceeds for our lottery customers.”
As reported by PRNewswire: “Sideplay’s highly experienced digital game developers have a proven track record of delivering exceptional iLottery content to market quickly.” The integration of Sideplay’s digital games into Scientific Games’ iLottery platforms means that there will be a wider breadth of iLottery games for players to choose from in the near future.
The closed deal comes as the board of Scientific Games Corporation (SGC) recently disclosed that it will be pursuing a ‘strategic divestment’ of the group’s lottery and sports betting units, a decision that was supported by members of the board, including Executive Chairman Jamie Odell and Executive Vice Chairperson Toni Korsanos.
With this new acquisition, Scientific Games continues to be the world’s number one iLottery company.