Scientific Games, a leading provider of lottery products, technology, and services to government-sponsored lottery programs globally, is expanding its digital and sports betting teams to continue serving its digital lottery and lottery sports betting customers worldwide. 

Scientific Games offers digital lottery games, player loyalty clubs, mobile apps, CRM, and iLottery solutions to more than 20 US and 30 international lotteries, with lottery sports betting customers in the US, Canada, and Europe. The company is renowned for its innovative products, and in the past year, it has launched many exciting programs, including a new mobile app for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, a new second-chance program for the Georgia Lottery, and 60 new eInstant games for its global customer base.

As part of the re-alignment of its leadership team, Scientific Games has made several key promotions, with Amy Bergette being promoted to senior vice president of digital solutions, Kira Summers to vice president of operations and planning for digital, and Merv Huber to vice president of digital growth. These promotions reflect the company’s focus on enhancing its digital and sports offerings, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of industry innovation.

Just last week Scientific Games also announced the appointment of Nick Negro as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Negro is now responsible for the financial strategy, operations, and planning of the company, and reports directly to CEO Barry Cottle. 

Negro has over 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles, including at MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. His expertise in financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, and strategic planning is a valuable asset to Scientific Games as the company continues to grow and expand in the gaming and lottery industries. 

Scientific Games Hiring for Various Digital and Sports Roles as It Advances Lottery Industry Solutions

According to Steve Beason, the president of digital and sports, Scientific Games is allocating resources towards individuals, products, and technology platforms that enable lotteries to interact with their players through various channels. 

They have reevaluated their strategic priorities and development routes to establish Scientific Games as the foremost digital and sports provider on a global scale. Their aim is to aid their clients in generating revenue for their beneficiary programs in a responsible manner.

The company is also hiring for several roles related to its digital and sports business, including a head of digital business development, iLottery technical operations manager, senior technological operations engineer, senior web developer, senior web engineer, and senior UI/UX designer. 

Scientific Games has a long history of innovation and is renowned for its pioneering role in digital and sports betting solutions for lotteries since 2004. The company provides retail and digital games, technologies, analytics, and services to 130 lotteries in 50 countries. Its focus on enhancing its digital and sports offerings will ensure that it remains a leader in the industry, delivering innovative products and services that engage players across all channels.

A new bill backed by Maryland lawmaker Nick Charles will seek to make it possible for released prisoners who have not committed violent crimes to find jobs at casino floors and get back to their normal lives.

Maryland Wants to Offer Ex-Convicts a Fighting Chance

The bill will still single out some crimes and consider them non-eligible for holding a job in the industry. Presently, the proposal is being moved through the House of Representatives, but there hasn’t been a floor vote just yet.

The bill also seeks to amend the current Maryland law that effectively prevents people on parole, probation or conviction to apply for jobs at a lottery or gambling venue for a period of at least seven years starting from the date of the offense.

However, this new law would do away with some of the needless restrictions and make it so that people who are willing to reintegrate into society have places to find employment. Essentially, offenders whose crimes aren’t linked to gambling will have the opportunity to now apply for a job at any of the six Maryland casinos.

Charles is confident that this is the way forward for the industry and the penal justice system. Reintegration is a key part of making sure that people do not slide into bad habits or return back to prison. “The goal is for everybody to be re-acclimated in society and be productive citizens,” the lawmaker told WTOP.com.

He is confident that people who are battling various addictions that led to their crimes would now be able to get a proper job and sustain themselves while turning their lives around. Charles meant specifically substances-abuse, such as alcohol, when he spoke about addictions.

“So this is a great opportunity for them to get that second chance,” the lawmaker assured, while casinos will also have a larger pool of employees to pick from.

Maryland Has Been Trying for Many Years Now

But the issue is not new. Attempts to open the gambling job market to ex-convicts have been going on for many years since 2013 at the very least.

Back then, a bill made it out of the General Assembly, but it didn’t really clear anything past that. Meanwhile, law enforcement and judicial experts and people with criminal records have affirmed that being cut off from the gambling market has made people more likely to go back to their bad habits.

Cashless is the new king and International Game Technology (IGT) knows it. The company has signed a multi-year agreement with Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park in California, adding yet another client to its growing portfolio of cashless gaming solutions.

Graton Resort & Casino Leverages Cashless Tech

IGT will help Graton Resort & Casino introduce state-of-the-art cashless gaming through the use of the IGTPay and Resort Wallet solutions, developed specifically to address the growing demand for this type of gameplay.

To make this possible, IGT is deploying its IGT ADVANTAGE casino management system to enable turnkey solutions that will make it easy for Graton guests to enjoy convenient, secure and unobtrusive gameplay. Players may still choose cash over cashless across the 3,000+ slot machines available on the property.

Commenting on this development, Graton Resorts & Casino VP and assistant general manager, Brian Green, said that California is a premier gaming destination, and the property was proud to be able to offer its players leading-edge technologies that add to consumer satisfaction and the gameplay experience. He added:

IGT’s proven Resort Wallet and IGTPay cashless technologies will enable us to drive new operational efficiencies and optimize revenue, while offering our customers a future-forward mobile e-wallet option that comes with a variety of benefits.

Graton Resorts & Casino VP and assistant general manager, Brian Green

IGT SVP global video poker, VLT, systems and payments Ryan Reddy was similarly upbeat about the opportunity. Reddy hailed “cashless commerce” as the future of the industry and said that IGT’s solution will make this transition seamless for partners.

Preparing for the Future of Gaming in Land-Based Casinos

Reddy assured that IGT was committed to boosting player convenience and security, boosting growth and differentiating the guest experience with the help of IGT’s Resort Wallet and IGTPay cashless gaming solutions.

Cashless has been an increasingly important solution designed to help businesses, consumers and regulators meet key objectives. The Endeavor Group in Australia has vowed to introduce cashless solutions across its fleet of poker machines.

In the meantime, Australia is debating fiercely whether this measure would indeed help curb criminals laundering money through gaming machines or, rather – alienate customers and make them feel as “criminals.” Yet, unobtrusive cashless solutions such as the ones offered by IGT seem to be the future of the land-based casino industry all the same.

An amendment to a bill in Georgia is bringing the topic of sports betting legalization in the state back to the table and will need no amendment to the state constitution.

Unclear Chances of Success

The legalization of sports betting was piggybacked on House Bill 237 by the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee on Thursday, seeking to make wagering on sports legal by early 2024 and without asking Georgia voters to amend the state constitution but its chances for success are uncertain.

The amendment came after proposals for sports betting legalization in both the House and Senate failed to pass before the deadline to advance to the opposite chamber but the idea to piggyback sports wagering on the bill is appalling to the bill sponsor, Rep. Leesa Hagan.

House Bill 237 sought to designate the Southeast Soap Box Derby in Lyons as the state’s official soap box derby but Hagan was vocal about her desire for the bill she had sponsored to have no links with sports betting.

Unwanted Association with Sports Betting

“I don’t want my soap box derby to be associated with sports betting,” she said, asking for the soap box derby measure to be removed from the bill. And she is not the only one thinking that such an approach to revive discarded ideas, though legal, can backfire.

Sen. Mike Dugan stated his opinion that the move had “just set sports betting back five years,” explaining that hijacking a soap box derby by putting sports betting on the back of it would surely have a negative impact on those who still have not decided on which side of the fence they should stand, including himself as he would not support the bill.

Committee Chairman Brandon Beach and House Speaker Jon Burns believe otherwise: Beach said that the plan was supported by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, while Burns left all options on the table by stating that sports betting legalization might not be dead for the year.

New Proposal Details

According to the proposal, the Georgia Lottery Corp, which will administer sports betting, alongside each of Atlanta’s major sports teams, the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, United and Dream, will receive a sports betting license.

The Masters golf tournament, the Professional Golfers’ Association and the owners of Atlanta Motor Speedway will also receive licenses, leaving seven licenses for the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and other commercial operators – in total, 16 online sportsbooks. There will be no physical sports betting locations.

Sportsbook operators will be taxed at 22%, while tax funds will go to the lottery’s designated beneficiaries, including college scholarships and state-funded preschool.

Backed by former state Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton, supporters of authorizing the lottery with sports betting administration argue that the proposal will not violate the constitutional prohibition of casinos or pari-mutuel betting, while opponents believe that in 1992 when voters approved the state lottery, did not consider sports betting to be part of it.

The amended bill will now head to the Senate for consideration and if approved, will head to the House.