Scientific Games buys European developer ELK Studios to boost original iGaming content
Gambling products and services provider Scientific Games Corporation has acquired European games developer ELK Studios, the company announced on Wednesday. The deal is expected to advance SG’s original iGaming content offering and production capabilities, while unlocking a significant opportunity to grow its presence in digital markets.
The Vegas-based company described the acquisition of the digital content studio as “highly synergistic,” thus marking an important step as Scientific Games executes its strategic vision “to become the leading cross-platform global game company.”
Stockholm-based developer ELK Studios produces “carefully crafted games with ground-breaking mathematics, superb artwork and a mobile-first focus,” according to a press release.
The digital studio’s hit releases include Wild Toro II, Kathmandu and Cygnus. Its games feature the innovative X-iter tool, which allows players “to jump into the action through a selection of special predefined modes.” Scientific Games describes the business as “highly profitable.”
"Acquiring ELK Studios demonstrates once again our commitment to make targeted, value-enhancing investments designed to advance our cross-platform content capabilities," said Barry Cottle, President and CEO of Scientific Games. "The ELK Studios team is packed with talent and enhances our existing in-house teams and capabilities.”
The deal is the latest in a string of content-focused deals, including the acquisitions of slot developer Lightning Box and live casino solutions provider Authentic Gaming, as SG moves quickly to invest in and grow its presence in the digital market. By adding ELK Studios to its in-house games portfolio, the company bolsters its capacity for creating original iGaming content.
In addition to further enhancing SG’s position as a content provider in the UK and Europe, the combination of ELK’s games and Scientific Games’ OpenGaming ecosystem offers “exciting distribution opportunities” in the US and Canada.
According to a press announcement, the studio will continue to work independently to create new titles, while also benefiting from Scientific Games' “comprehensive range of resources,” which include commercial scale, market expansion, support in U.S. and Canada, game IP and data analytics tools.
The deal builds upon a strategic partnership Scientific Games already had with ELK Studios for a number of years now. “Its games have performed brilliantly across the OpenGaming platform,” Dylan Slaney, CEO iGaming at Scientific Games said. “ELK is one of the most innovative, and top-ranked studios in iGaming.”
“We see it as the perfect time to join the Scientific Games team, given that our ambitions to grow through innovation and into the U.S. and Canada are in total alignment,” added Filip Säfbeck at ELK Studios. “This acquisition offers us a solid base to bring to market a wide range of exciting new slots more smoothly than ever to online casino partners across the globe."
