Light & Wonder CEO says sweepstakes operators are outside of supplier’s strategy
CEO Matt Wilson praises a “strong 2024” performance across all business segments, as he also notes that should the sweeps vertical move to regulation, commercial deals could be on the table
Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson has said the company would be willing to explore partnerships with sweepstakes operators should they become regulated.
Speaking on an analyst call following the company’s Q4 report release, Wilson said the growing sector was still categorized as “unregulated” by the supplier.
However, he did leave the door open for potential relationships, should attempts to bring the vertical into the regulated space come to fruition.
He said: “We see sweeps at the moment as being unregulated and so against our vision and strategy. If they were to regulate at some point down the path, we’d be willing to explore that.
“But, we don’t see a pathway to that happening any time soon. In fact, we see regulation going the other way. At the moment, we are watching it closely. It’s a fast-growing category but doesn’t face the same regulations and taxes that our operator partners do across the US.
The supplier also confirmed that following a strategic review it would be divesting its live casino business to focus on core operations.
Alongside Wilson’s comments, Light & Wonder reported a 4% year-on-year (YOY) increase in revenue for Q4 2024, generating $797m for the three months ending December 31.
The topline figure, attributed to a strong performance across all three business segments by bosses, represents a 15th consecutive quarter of YOY revenue growth.
Light & Wonder’s share price has seen a marginal climb of 1% in pre-market trading, following release of its Q4 results.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA also climbed 4% YOY, sitting at $315m, a rise “driven by revenue growth and healthy margins” across the three business divisions.
Net income for the fourth quarter increased to $107m, a notable rise from the $67m amassed in the corresponding period. The increase was largely due to higher operating income alongside $28m gained through selling assets.
Analysing Light & Wonder’s revenue rise by segment, gaming revenue rose 4% YOY to $515m thanks to continued growth in both gaming systems and table products, which also reported 24% and 10% YOY growth, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA for the segment sat at $257m, representing YOY growth of 5%, up from $245m the year prior.
The steepest climb came in igaming revenue, which increased 11% YOY to $78m, alongside adjusted EBITDA of $25m. The growth was driven in large part by content launches in both Europe and North America.
SciPlay revenue remained flat, recorded at $204m for the final three months of the year, while adjusted EBITDA for the division grew 7% YOY to $74m.
The supplier noted that stable revenue was driven by the social casino business and its “consistently high player engagement and monetization.”
SciPlay’s average monthly paying users came in at 600,000, with average monthly revenue per paying user recorded as $117.15.
The supplier also released its full-year 2024 results, which included revenue of $3.2bn, a rise of 10% YOY.
The majority of that figure was attributed to the gaming division, which reported revenue of $2.1bn thanks to continued momentum in the sale of gaming machines.
SciPlay revenue for the year stood at $821m, a 6% increase YOY, aided by record player metrics.
Continued growth in the US and international markets meant igaming revenue improved 9% YOY to $299m.
Earlier this week, the supplier agreed to pay $72.5m to resolve antitrust claims linked to its automatic card shuffler business, based on Light & Wonder conduct that started in 2009.
Though the settlement has ended the dispute, the company has reaffirmed it does not admit any liability regarding this matter.
Reflecting on Light & Wonder’s Q4 and full-year performance, Wilson explained: “We ended a strong 2024 with continued double-digit revenue and earnings growth for the year.
“The gaming machine sales share gains in North America and Australia this year are a testament to our R&D [research and development] investment, commercial strategy, and robust product roadmap.
“Furthermore, we have also realigned studio needs, adding more talent and expanding existing studios.”
In the opening exchanges of Q4 2024, a dispute between Aristocrat and ex-employee Dinh Toan Tran was settled after he was alleged to have stolen 6,800 sensitive files before then joining Light & Wonder.
That news came weeks after Light & Wonder lost a preliminary court case against Aristocrat Technologies, having been accused of misappropriating trade secrets to produce the Dragon Train slot game, which boasted similarities to Aristocrat’s own Dragon Link series.