Scientific Games Announces Rebranding alongside Successful Q4 Reports

Las Vegas-based gambling company Scientific Games has changed its name from the aforementioned to Light & Wonder Inc. This comes after multiple divestitures completed in 2021. The company let go of its lottery and sports betting business. At the same time, it acquired casino and live casino brands as part of its efforts to focus on casinos and online gambling content.

SG also released its Q4 2021 revenue report showing $580m in consolidated revenue. This would reveal a positive net income of $99m, a massive success after an $84 million loss accrued for Q4 2020.

New Name and New Experiences

SG confirmed on Tuesday that it would begin doing business as Light & Wonder, Inc. The company will take a cross-platform approach to bring leading game franchises to players anywhere, 24/7. This comprises physical casinos as well as online casinos and mobile destinations in real money and free-to-play markets.

The new website lnw.com cuts across gambling products, technology, and services. It features games, platforms, systems, player account management, and hardware. A legal name change will occur sometime this Spring, at which time the company plans to start trading under a new stock ticker, LNW.

Strictly Casino Gaming from Now On

Last September, Scientific Games Corporation inked a deal to hand over its OpenBet sports betting division to American entertainment conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings Incorporated, with the transfer to be completed by June 2022. In October, they would sign another agreement with a subsidiary of Canadian financial services giant Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated for its global lottery business.

SG then acquired live casino provider, Authentic Gaming, marking its first live casino venture. About a month later, it entered into a purchase agreement with ELK Studios to expand its gaming portfolio. Taking over the European developer was also a strategic decision to extend the company’s footprint in international digital markets.

According to Jamie Odell, Executive Chair for Scientific Games Corporation, the company’s divestitures were part of its plan to drive increased shareholder value and promote sustainable growth.

Odell said, “We are already seeing the early stages of the strategy successfully executed, and with the announced divestitures, the company will immediately shift from a debt to an equity story and achieve gearing significantly below the levels we underwrote in our investment thesis. We couldn’t be happier with the way the entire team has executed on the transformation strategy, and our initial expectations are already being exceeded.”

Details on the Revenue Report

Of SG’s Q4 net income of $99 million, $62 million amounted from its continued casino-inclined operations. Following the sale of its non-casino subsidiaries, Scientific Games’ continuing operations include SG’s gaming, SciPlay division, and iGaming businesses.

Revenue from these sections alone saw an increase of 21% compared to the same accounting period in 2020.

When including its discontinued operations, SGs year-on-year revenue increase was 15%, resulting in over $3 billion total yearly revenue and 20% higher than 2020. The full-year net income followed the same trajectory as the comparable Q4 results – a profit for 2021 and a loss for 2022.

SG indicated North American premium gaming operations and the market recovery as the driving force for the improved performance. CEO Barry Cottle said, “We are very pleased with the strong performance we achieved in the quarter, which capped what was an outstanding year.

“As we reflect on what a difference the past year has made for our organization, we sit here today with an enviable position with incredibly strong financials and with a rapidly transformed balance sheet.”