About Light & Wonder

about light & wonder	info
Provider	Light and Wonder
Established	2022 -previously 1973 as Scientific Games
Number of Games	250
Products	Slots & Table Games
Headquarters	Las Vegas
Website	https://www.lnw.com/

Scientific Games was a huge name in the iGaming, Lotto and offline gambling world, employing thousands of people globally. This fresh new face of Light & Wonder is the latest in a long history of business changes for a company that can claim roots in the gambling world back to 1917. The business backstory covers decades of mergers, acquisitions and rebrands. But they started in the early part of the 20th Century as Autotote – a US specialist in totaliser systems for pool betting at the racetrack.

In 1989 they were bought by Auto Tote, a doomed partnership where the government forced them to split back up again due to concerns over competition and monopolisation of the market. More recently, Autotote bought Scientific Games Holding Corp in 2000, a leading maker of instant lottery equipment and rebranded itself as Scientific Game Corp.

To give you an idea of the scale of this business, two-thirds of the £20 Billion spent at the racetrack in America in 2002 was tracked through Autotote.

Over the years, the company acquired a number of subsidiary companies, especially for the online slots side of the business, including legendary UK slot maker Barcrest, slot machine manufacturer Bally Technologies, gaming and amusement manufacturing company WMS Industries as well as The Global Draw, MDI Entertainment, LLC, and NYX Gaming Group Limited.

In 2019 started to sell shares for its social gaming division SciPlay on the stock market.

But by 2020, it was struggling under a mountain of debt.

In order to help balance the books, they announced in March 2022 some big, big changes, including selling their Lottery Business to asset management firm Brookfield Business Partners LP for a cool $ 6 billion USD – although it will still be called Scientific Gaming for the time being.

This is all wonderful news for the likes of you and me because it means Light & Wonder will be focusing on improving their iGaming business.

Announcing the rebrand earlier this year, CEO Barry Cottle said: “We are thrilled to introduce the world to Light & Wonder, a company that will build great games and franchises that offer players a seamless experience across platforms.

“Our powerful new strategy required a powerful new identity to distinguish us and our unique offerings and capabilities. Our new name and identity are born from our winning strategy to be the leading cross-platform game company and will inspire our people to make great products for our players.”

Exciting times lie ahead!

Award Winners

Light & Wonder’s previous incarnation won plenty of awards over the years for innovation of games in both land-based and online casinos.

In 2018 alone, they were awarded:

Best Mobile Supplier at the EGR Italy awards,
A Rising Star trophy at G2E Asia,
Social Casino Supplier at the Gaming Intelligence Awards.

As well as a couple of Communitas awards for green initiatives and humanitarian efforts.

They have a long list of licences that cover all the big guns, including the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority and Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

Software is tested by independent agencies like eCOGRA which make them highly trustworthy and safe.

Features & Game Types

Without doubt, you will have played a Light & Wonder game, although you may not have realised it. This is a house of many brands, where subsidiary companies develop the slots under the parent company logo. For instance, the hugely popular slot Rainbow Riches is a Light and Wonder game developed by a subsidiary of UK-based Barcrest. Other notable studios on the books include WMS and NYX. The vast bulk of their offering is slots, with the odd smattering of table games such as blackjack and roulette – but these are rare.

Like many of the older iGaming companies, they have a heritage of building and developing fruit machines for land-based casinos and pubs. Over time they’ve transferred those lessons learnt into the online world. What makes Scientific Gaming (now Light & Wonder) interesting is that because they use different subsidiary slot producers, their games can be wildly different in look and functionality.

Barcrest games tend to be very retro, whilst WMS Industries (Williams Interactive) serve up more modern offerings, including the Monopoly and Zeus series.

Their biggest acquisition was arguably NYX Gaming Group in 2018. It brought with it a back catalogue of more than 120 games, including Leprechaun’s Gold and a couple more Monopoly titles.

Gameplay-wise, you can forget progressive jackpots and live table action the likes of Evolution Gaming deliver.

Instead, their main theme is reflective of their land-based casino approach.

At Light & Wonder slots, you can expect,

A look and feel reflective of land-based slots
Classic gameplay with retro design
A mix of RTPs
The Big Bet Feature – Where you pay to play for higher stakes for five rounds.
Features – All the classics are available, including expanding wilds, wilds, scatters, click-n-pick and big prize wheels.

Highest Return to Player Slots

Light & Wonder games have a great mix of RTP games. Whether you love a game that pays out little and often or you prefer them to pay less frequently but with bigger payouts, you’ll find all your needs met with these online slots. Here are some of their higher-ranking RTP games.

Aftershock Frenzy – RTP 97%

Elvis: The King Lives – RTP 96.09%

Black Knight – RTP 96.07%

Our Top 5 Picks

Monopoly Bring The House Down – This latest take on the classic board game has five reels, 40 pay lines and is medium in terms of volatility. Developed by Barcrest, it has a tank full of bonuses, including free spins and wild multipliers. Plus, the standard Barcrest big bet bonus game option. Three Monopoly symbols land you on the board, where eight free spins and sticky wilds await. The RTP for this one is 96.1%.
Buffalo Spirit – This is probably one of the company’s most popular and well-known slots, giving Rainbow Riches a run for its money. This western-themed slot produced by NYX has five reels and 30 pay lines. Landing three or more scatters will see you onto the Buffalo Spirit Bonus feature, where you receive 10, 20 or 30 free spins depending on the number of scatter symbols.
Leprechaun’s Fortune – This Irish-themed medium variance slot by WMS has five reels and 50 pay lines. The little leprechaun serves as the wild and can replace other symbols to create a winning combo. Three pots of gold trigger ten free spins. This is a classic slot in terms of functionality and looks, with an RTP of 96.14%.
Super Monopoly Money – The WMS masterpiece is packed with features. It has a classic layout of five reels and three rows and 25 pay lines. Features include two types of wild, free spins, a free parking bonus and a Wheel Bonus. With medium to high volatility and RTP of 95.97%, this game comes highly recommended.
Ra and the Scarab Temple – This Bally slot is inspired by the ancient Egyptians. Its five reels, four rows, and 40 pay lines are packed with features including mystery stacked symbols, various wilds, a bonus called Radiating Wilds, plus free spins with multipliers. Younger players may feel the graphics are a tad dated, but for older players, it will transport them back to their favourite land-based slots. The RTP for this one is 95.95%

Our View

These are exciting times for Light & Wonder. Their subsidiary companies are already household names in the ‘slotosphere’. Now with a dedicated business focus on their iGaming programme, the outlook looks bright for even more exciting and innovative games to hit the market.

Light & Wonder released their first game under their new brand in April 2022. Stargate Megaways is a branded six-reel slot based on the popular TV show; complete with wilds, wild reels, expanding reels, and a regeneration feature, it’s a cracking start for the new look company.

We can’t wait to see what the next 12 months will bring!

Best Light & Wonder Casinos

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