Restructure of SciPlay expands scope

The news broken earlier this week of a rumoured restructure of Scientific Games and Playtech joint venture SciPlay saw Scientific Games share-price fall by 10 percent on Monday but the companies, who backed-up the industry speculation with a formal announcement, believe that the restructure expands SciPlay’s scope.

Under the new terms of the agreement, Playtech will license its online gaming software to Scientific Games on a mutually non-exclusive basis for use by certain categories of Scientific Games’ current and prospective customers, including U.S. casinos and lotteries worldwide; and SciPlay-related entities will become wholly owned subsidiaries of Scientific Games.

“We believe that our restructured arrangement with Playtech preserves the business and strategic rationale of the Sciplay joint venture and even expands its scope – to be able to offer a powerful combination of Scientific Games’ proven ability to provide comprehensive solutions to lotteries and other operators and Playtech’s leading internet gaming technology,” said Rick Weil, chief executive officer of Sciplay.  “At the same time, the arrangement affords both parties greater flexibility in the provision of internet gaming solutions, given the evolving and highly dynamic internet gaming space.”

Mor Weizer, chief executive officer of Playtech, commented, “This is a sensible reflection of the changing nature of the opportunities and the expansion of the potential scope of our relationship.  The flexibility this affords both parties will also ensure we can both work in the most effective way. We will look to work together as we both recognize that a number of key opportunities are outside the initial arrangement. It should also be noted that the formal joint venture structure had certain limitations and accounting complexities which we will no longer experience.”

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