Online and land-based casino giant, Light & Wonder, is set to shut down their live dealer gaming operations. The announcement on February 25th, following their fourth-quarter earnings call, leaves Evolution and Playtech as the only two remaining U.S. suppliers of live-dealer games. Light & Wonder, which set up shop in New York City in 1953 under the brand name Automatic Totalisators, is keen to focus now on the most impactful parts of its business.
It comes as New York State Senator Addabo introduced a new iGaming bill to authorize iGaming and lottery within New York State. While online gambling is illegal in New York, New Jersey’s iGaming market has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with revenue topping $553 million in January 2025, breaking another record for the state. Currently in New York residents can engage in land-based casinos, online sports betting, fantasy sports contests, internet betting on horse races, and video lottery gaming.
Many residents enjoy the variety and independence that online casinos offer, often choosing to engage in sweepstake casinos as an alternative. However, platforms now can offer so much more to players. From a range of diverse games including table card games and live-dealer experiences, players are faced with a variety of choices. From easy-to-use interfaces, multiple payment options, and secure transactions, players can engage in their favorite games from the comfort of home. Online casinos are now integrating with common communication applications, exemplified by Telegram casino, offering cryptocurrency like Bitcoin as a payment method to enhance security and transparency. Platforms like this offer licensed and safe gambling options with lucrative bonuses and sign-up offers while staying within a modern communication tool.
Faced with a busy and competitive industry, and regulations and restrictions across multiple states, Light & Wonder has decided to discontinue and divest its live-dealer games. Light & Wonder was still at the early investment stage of this part of their business, and is keen to make sure they remain objective in driving value for their shareholders. Light & Wonder now wants to focus on first-person perspective content (1PP), aggregation, and monetization tools to drive growth in their online offering. Using tactics that might include integrated payment methods and better game portfolio management.
As of 2025, it is estimated that the online gambling market in the USA is worth $5.97 billion, and is expected to reach $12.81 billion by 2030. Light & Wonder is confident that the other areas of their online gaming business will return to robust growth in 2025. Having had another record-breaking year in 2024, which they have credited to the flexibility of their teams and management.
Light & Wonder also saw significant expansion in 2024 into the Brazilian iGaming market, with 50 game titles launched through various operators. Light & Wonder also commented on the uncertainty of the unregulated sweepstake market, noting that they were monitoring the market space however it went against their vision as a company.
The news comes as Light & Wonder has just promoted Nathan Drane to the role of Chief Product Officer, with the company now centralizing game development all under one division.
