Aristocrat Leisure

Aristocrat Leisure Limited is an Australian gambling machine manufacturer, which has its administrative and research headquarters in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde. It has marketing and development offices in South Africa, Russia, and the United States.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited
TypePublic company
ASX: ALL
IndustryGambling
Founded1953 Edit this on Wikidata
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Key people
Trevor Croker, CEO
RevenueIncrease A$4,397.4 million (2019)
Increase A$1,162.5 million (2019)
Increase A$698.8 million (2019)
Number of employees
6400+
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.aristocrat.com

Aristocrat is the largest gambling machine manufacturer in Australia, and one of the largest manufacturers of slot machines in the world, currently second only to International Game Technology.

History

The company produced its first machine in 1953 and was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1996. The company was founded by Len Ainsworth, whose family[1] maintains a substantial stake in the company, but is now chairman of a different gaming company, Ainsworth Game Technology. Aristocrat is licensed to distribute slot machines and other gaming products in over 200 jurisdictions (note that many countries, such as Australia, have a number of different gaming-license jurisdictions).

Aristocrat's CEO blamed the US subprime mortgage crisis for poor financial results in 2008,[2] despite the fact that competing companies have experienced record growth[3] in the same time period. As a result of the expected drop in revenue, the CEO enacted sweeping budget cuts, including large-scale retrenchments of staff from all areas of the business.[4] The company again faced difficult market conditions in 2009 with its full-year resulting in a net loss of $157.8 million.[5]

In 2011, the company reached an agreement with the AGLC to provide equipment and games for Alberta's video lottery terminal network.[6]

In July 2014, Aristocrat agreed to buy Video Gaming Technologies for about $1.3 billion to triple its North American business amid falling profit in Australia.[7] On 10 August 2017, it acquired mobile game developer Plarium for $500 million to enter into mobile gaming.[8] On 30 November 2017, it acquired mobile game developer Big Fish Games for US$990 million.[9]

Since March 2017, the CEO has been Trevor Croker, formerly executive vice president for global products, who succeeded Jamie Odell.[10][11]

In July 2019, Aristocrat sued Ainsworth, alleging that they had used proprietary code and media assets leaked by a former Aristocrat employee to produce a clone of its popular Lightning Link games.[12][13]

On 4 October 2021, Aristocrat gaming was awarded the “Land-based Product”, “Land-based industry supplier” and “Slot of the year" (“Buffalo Link”) from the Global Gaming Awards in Las Vegas for the “in the clear” initiative introduced for their gaming machines.[14]

On 18 October 2021, Aristocrat announced they will bid to buy Playtech for US$3.7 billion,[15] which was later turned down by Playtech shareholders with more than 45% voting against the deal. However, the company stated it will consider other proposals.[16] As a result of this, in May 2022, Aristocrat announced it will launch its online casino business by the end of 2022, as the group aims to become as a leader in the emerging digital gambling industry. Additionally, Aristocrat announced a $500 million on-market share buyback to return some of the $1.3 billion additional funding raised for the failed bid of Playtech.[17]

Products and partnerships

Aside from spinning reel slot machines, the company has interests in gambling systems (computerized network systems that manage slot machines), computerized card game simulations, electronic table games, and linked jackpot systems (such as the patented Hyperlink systems). The company has developed the Reel Power system, where players buy reels instead of lines, winning combinations in the standard configuration.

Aristocrat's most prominent products have been game setups that place large progressive jackpots over a number of machines, including its Lightning Link series. The series has seen substantial popularity, to the point that Aristocrat has licensed branded areas at several North American casinos dedicated exclusively to the machines.[18][13][12][19]

The company has a number of distribution partnerships, including Sammy Corporation in Japan.

In the U.S., Aristocrat has licensed titles to Grand Vision Gaming of Montana for use on video lottery terminals.[20]

In 2022, the company entered into an agreement with the New England Patriots becoming the Official Betting partner of the team. As part of the contract, the Patriot’s Gillette Stadium was also branded with Aristocrat Gaming signage. The company is expected to release NFL-themed games in the fall of 2023. The game will include all the teams in the National Football League and allow players to pick up and play with their favourite team.[21][22]

References
  1. "Rich Pickings: Len Ainsworth". Business Spectator. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
  2. "Aristocrat feels pain in US". Fairfax Digital. 30 April 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  3. "Bally Technologies, Inc. Announces Record Earnings for Third Quarter Fiscal 2008 on Record Revenues of $233 Million". The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 12 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  4. "CEO & CFO Presentation, Macquarie conference". asx.com.au. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  5. "CEO and CFO Presentation Script - Full Year Results 2009" (PDF). 23 February 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  6. "Canadian lotteries infuse Nevada's slot industry with sales opportunities". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  7. "Aristocrat to Buy Video Gaming for $1.3 Billion". Bloomberg.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  8. "Plarium acquired in $500 million deal". gamesindustry.biz. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  9. "Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs selling Big Fish Games for $990M, just three years after initial purchase". 29 November 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  10. "Trevor Croker named chief executive of Aristocrat Leisure". Gaming Intelligence. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  11. 8 March 2017 at 10:00 PM (8 March 2017). "Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker flogs shares, pockets $2m to manage 'tax liabilities'". afr.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. Begley, Patrick (15 July 2018). "'A little bit of magic': The pokie that took over the world". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  13. Simmons, David. "Pokies giants Ainsworth and Aristocrat to duke it out in the Federal Court". Business News Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  14. "Revealed: The winners of the Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas 2021". Gaming America. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  15. "Aristocrat Confirms $3.7BN Bid to Acquire Playtech". GamblingNews. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  16. "Playtech shareholders reject $2.8 bln Aristocrat takeover". Reuters. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  17. "Pokie giant to launch online casino product as it readies for digital gambling boom". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  18. Hatch, Patrick (5 July 2019). "Pokies maker says rival had access to secret maths codes for slot machine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  19. "WinStar World Casino and Resort inaugurates Lightning Link Lounge". World Casino News. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  20. "Grand Vision Gaming renews VLT cross-licensing deal with Aristocrat". Gaming Intelligence. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  21. "Aristocrat Gaming to be the official betting partner of the Patriots". Casinoreviews.net.
  22. "Aristocrat Gaming CEO on NFL branded games". CNBC.com.
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