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Changes in the Late 1990s and Beyond

Autotote continued to improve its financial record in 1997. Several U.S. subsidiaries were sold to pay down debt. It placed a seven-year $110 bond offering in July, which provided additional relief for the company's debt load. The firm also completed the divestiture of its European lottery operations that year, leaving it to focus on its pari-mutuel and North American lottery holdings.

By 1998, business appeared to be back on track. Autotote secured its largest contract in company history that year when it teamed up with Sisal Sport Italia Spa. As part of the deal, the company was slated to provide up to 20,000 Extrema terminals to the Italian lottery operator. It also landed a seven-year contract to provide services to the Montana State Lottery that year. Additional lottery contracts were obtained over the next several years in Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Maine.

Sales reached $211 million in 1999, and the company reported a small profit compared to a loss of $15.9 million in the previous year. Despite another revenue gain in 2000, Autotote found itself once again posting another loss. Company management believed it was time to make a bold move. As such, the firm made a $310 million play for competitor Scientific Games Holding Corp. William Mallory, CEO of Scientific Games, and Autotote chairman and CEO Lorne Weil believed a merger would greatly benefit the two companies. "In a world where 'bigger is better' is no longer just a saying, the merger with Autotote gives the newly combined company the breadth and scale to develop and deliver products that will drive the future success of the lottery industry," Mallory declared in a 2000 Atlanta Journal article. Weil agreed, and in a company press release he added that as a result of the merger Autotote would be the "largest provider of service, systems and products to both the pari-mutuel gaming and instant ticket lottery industries as well as the only fully integrated lottery service provider in the world." Shareholders approved the deal and during the integration process in 2001, Autotote changed its name to Scientific Games Corporation.

The newly merged company acquired a 65 percent stake in Serigrafica Chilena S.A. in June 2002, which strengthened its position in the Latin American phone card and instant-win lottery ticket market. It bolstered its holdings in 2003 by acquiring MDI Entertainment Inc. and IGT OnLine Entertainment Systems Inc.

In just two short years, it appeared that the union of Autotote and Scientific Games was paying off. Sales reached $560.9 million in 2003 while net income remained steady at $52.1 million. With the problems of the past behind it, the company was poised for future growth. As a leading force in the lottery and pari-mutuel industries, Scientific Games looked as if it was on track for growth in the years to come.

1. Introduction
2. Autotote Before 1992
3. Expanded Operations: 1992–95
4. Heavy Losses: 1994–96
5. Changes in the Late 1990s and Beyond
6. Principal Subsidiaries
7. Principal Competitors
8. Further Reading
9. Copyright Page
10. About Page