Aristocrat Interactive announced its debut this week, combining Aristocrat’s in-house studio, Anaxi, with the recently acquired Neo Group Ltd. The new division includes five distinct segments covering all aspects of online gambling and digital systems for retail casino management.
For most of its corporate history, Aristocrat has been best known as a retail slots manufacturer. Most famously, it is the creator of the often-imitated Buffalo slots theme.
Until recently, it wasn’t active in the online gambling space at all. It launched Anaxi in 2022 with the aim of creating digital adaptations of its most successful retail franchises, like Buffalo.
The following year, it acquired Neo Group for $1.2 billion. That substantial investment confirmed Aristocrat’s commitment to online channels. The acquisition also added iLottery capabilities to Aristocrat’s portfolio, which it had previously lacked.
Aristocrat has named Moti Malul as the CEO of the new division. He previously held the same role at NeoGames, the flagship iLottery company within Neo Group. That selection of leadership suggests that Aristocrat continues to see high potential for instant iLottery products compared to other digital gambling products. In the US, the expansion of legal online casinos has stalled, while many states have shown themselves more amenable to the idea of an online lottery.
In a press release, Malul said:
We are excited to reach this next milestone in our journey to be the global leader in digital gaming experiences. With the launch of Aristocrat Interactive, we believe we are uniquely positioned to spearhead a new era of connected experiences.
We are excited to unite our global teams and deliver innovative solutions that will delight players and empower operators around the world. The future is bright, and we will work hard to ensure that Aristocrat Interactive is at the forefront of this transformative journey.
Aristocrat Interactive: Before and After
The launch of Aristocrat Interactive restructures Aristocrat’s existing activities in the online and casino management verticals.
The previous structure was based on the legacy companies and divisions making the products:
- Anaxi: Aristocrat’s in-house online studio, launched in 2022.
- NeoGames: Neo Group’s core brand, comprising an iLottery platform, an instant iLottery games studio, and marketing services.
- Aspire Global: An iGaming company owned by Neo Group, offering an online casino platform, content aggregation, online sports betting, and a suite of outsourced services for iGaming operators (customer service, compliance, etc.)
- BtoBet: An online sports betting platform and service provider, also owned by Neo Group. It also offers a data feed and trading services.
- Pariplay: A major iGaming aggregator whose Fusion platform includes slots by most of the world’s top studios, with the option for operators to add promotional games like wheel spins on top of that third-party content.
The new structure removes these legacy silos and groups activities by product type instead. Some of the divisions may remain largely unchanged because of the subsidiaries’ areas of focus.
The five segments of Aristocrat Interactive are:
- iLottery: This segment will carry on the work of NeoGames for its 28 global lottery customers. Leading the team is Chris Shaban, formerly NeoGames’ Managing Director of iLottery.
- Content & Aggregation: Pariplay’s former Managing Director, Adrian Bailey, will head this segment. Naturally, it includes Pariplay’s Fusion platform and Ignite studio development program. However, it will also include Anaxi and Aspire’s content aggregation activities.
- Gaming Systems: Led by Neil Crossan, this segment will supply non-content technology to land-based casino operators. That includes solutions for accounting, casino management, loyalty programs, and marketing.
- iGaming & Sports: BtoBet Managing Director Dima Reiderman will oversee the segment dedicated to modular technology for online casinos and sportsbooks.
- iGaming White-Label: This segment is the one-stop-shop version of the iGaming & Sports division, offering small operators an easy way to enter the space with a complete software and support services package. It will be led by Jonathan Chilton, former Managing Director of Aspire Global.
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