Developer and provider of products and services for the international gambling industry, both land-based and online, Scientific Games Corp. confirmed on Wednesday the designation of its wholly owned interactive social gaming subsidiaries as unrestricted entities under the company’s existing debt agreements. Scientific Games is thus looking to maximize growth, the developer and supplier itself said in a statement.
Social gaming has been one of the fastest growing sectors within the industry over the past several years. Scientific Games’ own social business reported double-digit growth in each of the past three quarters. During the quarter ended June 30, 2016, its social gaming division posted a 68% increase from the results reported for the prior-year period.
After designating its online social gaming subsidiaries, with Phantom EFX, LLC, and Dragonplay Ltd. being among those, Scientific Games will now look through all available opportunities to establish itself as a leader in the provision of this type of offering. The company said that IPO, acquisitions, and joint ventures will certainly be among the options considered.
With the unrestricted designation in effect, Scientific Games’ online social gaming businesses will remain fully owned by their parent company and will keep on being overseen by Chief Executive – Interactive Barry Cottle and President – Interactive Jordan Levin.
Commenting on the latest announcement, Scientific Games President and CEO Kevin Sheehan said that their investment in the provision of innovative products is clearly paying off. The executive further noted that after three quarters of revenue growth, they considered it the right time to accelerate the current momentum and look at more opportunities to deliver additional value from the rapidly growing social gaming segment.
Scientific Games generated revenue of $729.2 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2016, up 5% from the $691.5 million posted for the same period of the previous year. Gaming revenue, in particular, dropped slightly from $449.7 million reported for the prior-year quarter to $441.9 million for the second quarter of 2016.
Interactive revenue was up 62% year-on-year to a total of $83.4 million. The considerable growth was attributed mainly to the 68% rise in revenue from interactive social casino offering. Brands like Jackpot Party Social Casino and the recently launched Hot Shot Social Casino and Quick Hit Slots have proved to be quite popular among players, the company itself said in its latest financial report.
