Scientific Games

Scientific Games Review

Scientific Games, also known as SG, is a global gaming industry giant that offers a comprehensive suite of land-based casino games, interactive online casino games, and lottery/i-lottery games.

The Scientific Games corporate umbrella holds many subsidiary companies that SG acquired, including powerhouse brands like WMS, Bally, NYX Gaming Group, NextGen Gaming, Barcrest, Shuffle Master, and Red7.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, SG’s satellite offices span the globe and employ over 10,000 people collectively. The SG Digital division is also headquartered in Las Vegas, with additional offices in London, Stockholm, and Sydney, and it now employs over 1,600 of SG’s 10,000+ employees. 

Scientific Games holds a number of licenses for its portfolio of global brands, including online gaming licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, Malta Gambling Authority, Alderney Gambling Control Commission, and Gibraltar Gambling Commission. 

Scientific Games is a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ (SGMS).

Casinos with Scientific Games

In addition to the strong presence of SG slot cabinets on land-based casino floors, games from SG and SG subsidiaries are available at a wide variety of leading online casino sites. Examples of Scientific Games casinos include MrFavorit, bCasino, Casumo, Fun Casino, and online gambling sites in heavily regulated markets, like the Golden Nugget New Jersey.

SG’s online lottery games can be found on private and state-run iLottery sites, including the Pennsylvania iLottery site, which is one of the leading iLottery sites in North America. 

Scientific Games –  Games

The Scientific Games catalog is enormous, with each of SG’s subsidiary companies offering its own substantial catalog of titles. 

WMS Slots (Examples): Zeus, Crystal Forest, Epic Monopoly II, Monopoly Money, Kronos, Super Jackpot Party, Bier Haus, Heidi’s Beer Haus, Invaders From The Planet Moolah, Montezuma, Raging Rhino, Crystal Forest 

NextGen Slots (Examples): The Snake Charmer, Mad Mad Monkey, Dragon Wins, Wild Run, Flame, Samurai Split, WonderHounds, Medusa, Starmania, Cherry Blossoms, Dolphin Reef, Big Foot, Wild West, Pandamania, Super Safari, Monster Wins, Foxin’ Wins, Shaaark! 

Bally Slots (Examples): Anchorman, Titanic, Celestial King, Cirque Du Soleil Kooza, Dragon Spin, Cash Wizard, Double Dragon, Aloha Island, Big Vegas, Mayan Treasures, Lucky Link Beats, Acorn Pixie, Celestial King, Lady Robin Hood

Barcrest Slots (Examples): BeetleJuice, Rainbow Riches, Snow Leopard, Boulder Bucks

Red7 Slots (Examples): Lucky Lanes, Prism Blast 

Noteworthy Products

Monopoly Slots Multiple SG subsidiaries, including WMS and Barcrest, have released Monopoly-branded slot games. Barcrest titles include Monopoly 250k, Monopoly Big Event, Monopoly Bring Down The House, and Monopoly Money In Hand. 

WMS’s Monopoly branded slots titles include Super Monopoly Money, Epic Monopoly II, Monopoly Big Event, Monopoly Bring The House Down, Monopoly Mega Movers, Monopoly Money In Hand, Monopoly Big Money Reel, and Monopoly Once Around Deluxe.

For example:

• Epic Monopoly II boasts two sets of reels, with a 5×4 set and a 5×12 colossal reel for a total of 100 lines with transferring wild reels. Spins on the Epic Wheel award free spins, multipliers, mystery wins, and rolls on the Monopoly game board. The RTP is a solid 96.01%.
  
• Super Monopoly Money is played on a single 5×3 set of slick reels with 25 paylines. A Monopoly Wheel awards multipliers and special features like Community and Chance cards, free spins bonus games, and a Free Parking matching feature. The RTP is 95.97%. 

Greek Gods Slots – Early WMS casino slot releases like Zeus and Kronos, both with 3×5 reels and simple features like wild symbols, stacked symbols, and free spins bonus games, were such a success that WMS expanded the Greek Gods series with new games and advanced features.

For example:

• Zeus 1000 features a main reel and a second colossal reel, with 100 combined lines and transferring wilds between the reels. Zeus III also features a unique layout with 192 lines in a sideways pyramid configuration, and the Zeus God of Thunder slot comes with three different Wheel of Fortune mini-games and five different jackpots.  

• Kronos Unleashed is an 8×5 slot with 60 lines with Lightning Re-Spins, Power Up bonuses, bonus features with guaranteed minimum wins, and five different jackpots that can pay up to 5,000x your bet. 

NextGen Gaming developed a series of popular slot games, including Monster Wins and Foxin’ Wins, that inspired similar titles like Monster Wins Again, Foxin’ Wins Again, and Foxin’ Twins. These slot games have also been translated into popular, instant-win reveal games for iLottery sites.

For example:

• Monster Wins Slot – The Monster Wins reels (4×5) offer 1,024 ways to win and are packed with colorful and playful monster creatures that inhabit an alien planet. Wild symbols and a Boss Monster free spins bonus game can set up some monstrous wins. 
• Monster Wins Reveal – The iLottery version of Monster Wins boasts the same playful characters, symbols, and design as the Monster Wins slot game. Monster symbols are revealed on a 4×4 matrix and pay out when three or four symbols match. Plus, three matching bonus symbols trigger a Free Games mini-game. Foxin’ Wins Reveal follows a similar formula but with a 3×3 matrix. 

Important Features

With such a broad range of developers and game titles, SG games offer an expansive range of features. SG titles are not the most cutting-edge games available on the market, but the options are solid and diverse. SG game features range from the most basic slots with free spins bonuses to more advanced interactive bonus games. 

Return-to-Player values also vary by SG developer, but many slot titles hover in the average 95-96% range. SG slot games generally offer medium- to high-volatility levels, depending on the brand and title. For example:

• Anchorman by Bally: 96% RTP, medium volatility 
• Monopoly Big Event by Barcrest: 96.03% RTP, medium volatility
• Monster Wins by NextGen: 97.11% RTP, medium-high volatility
• A Dragon’s Story by NextGen: 95.22%-95.62% RTP, medium volatility
• Invader’s From Planet Moolah by WMS: 96% RTP, medium volatility
• Raging Rhino by WMS – 95.91% RTP, high volatility     

Scientific Games History

The history of Scientific Games and its numerous subsidiaries goes back almost 90 years to 1932 when both the Williams and Bally brands introduced pinball machines to the market. Bally then went on to introduce the first slot machine in 1936. 

Fast forward to 1984, when the Autotote Corporation—a company that manufactured tote boards for racetrack wagering—was incorporated in Delaware and went public on the NASDAQ. Autotote then acquired Scientific Games in 2000, and in 2001, Autotote changed its name to Scientific Games Corporation. 

Scientific Games proceeded to acquire a number of reputable gaming companies, including WMS in 2013, Bally in 2014, Red7Mobile in 2017, and NYX Gaming Group (with its subsidiary NextGen Gaming) in 2018. 

Jordan Levin led the acquisition and integration of NYX Gaming Group and was appointed Group Chief Executive to lead the newly-formed SG Digital division in 2018. SG Digital merged SG Interactive with NYX Gaming Group to develop SG’s digital gaming and sports betting content. Jordan Levin has guided SG’s digital strategy in various capacities since joining Scientific Games in 2006.       

Also in 2018, Barry Cottle was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Scientific Games parent company after serving as Chief Executive of SG Interactive.