Light & Wonder Q3: SciPlay Revenue Falls 12% as Social Casino Softens
Published: November 8, 2026 | Author: Roxy Vance
Light & Wonder, the cross-platform games company, said revenue at SciPlay, its social casino business, fell 12% to $173 million in the third quarter of 2026, while group net income rose 17% to $133 million. The company reported the results on November 4, 2026, and said weakness in social casino is one reason it expects full-year growth toward the lower end of its range.
- SciPlay revenue
- $173M
- down 12%
- SciPlay monthly paying users
- 426,000
- about 17% fewer
- Group revenue
- $824M
- down 2%
- Group net income
- $133M
- up 17%
The Numbers
Group revenue for the three months to September 30 was $824 million, down 2% from $841 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share rose 28% to $1.72, and Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (AEBITDA) rose 2% to $383 million. Revenue fell in two of the company’s three segments, with the sharpest drop at SciPlay. The table compares each with the third quarter of 2025; group AEBITDA is after $33 million of corporate and other costs.
| Q3 2026 | Revenue | Change | AEBITDA | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaming | $554 million | −1% | $312 million | +2% |
| SciPlay | $173 million | −12% | $67 million | −6% |
| iGaming | $97 million | +13% | $37 million | +9% |
| Group | $824 million | −2% | $383 million | +2% |
Fewer Paying Players at SciPlay
The filing says SciPlay’s revenue “continued to reflect ongoing softness in the broader social casino free-to-play market.” It had about 17% fewer monthly paying users, the people who made an in-game purchase, though those users spent 5% more on average. Direct-to-consumer platforms brought in 31% of SciPlay revenue, up from 20% a year earlier.
| SciPlay | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $173 million | $197 million |
| Monthly paying users | 426,000 | 514,000 |
| Monthly active users | 4.6 million | 5.2 million |
| Daily active users | 1.8 million | 2.0 million |
| Payer conversion rate | 9.3% | 10.0% |
| Monthly revenue per paying user | $132.80 | $126.23 |
| Direct-to-consumer revenue | $53 million | $40 million |
| Third-party platforms and other revenue | $120 million | $157 million |
The segment’s margin rose to 39% from 36% even as its AEBITDA fell.
New SciPlay CEO and the Sweepstakes Question
Light & Wonder named Matthieu Labbat CEO of SciPlay, effective November 4, according to the company’s announcement as carried by G3 Newswire. Labbat spent 7.5 years at Product Madness, most recently as head of the company. He follows Josh Wilson, who the company said in September would step down effective October 30.
“The social casino market remains under pressure,” Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said on the earnings call, CDC Gaming reported. The outlet said he pointed to sweepstakes casinos as the cause, but the filing doesn’t make that link: sweepstakes appears only in its list of regulatory risks. CDC Gaming also reported Matt Wilson as saying the change would shift investment from SciPlay toward parts of the business with better returns.
iGaming Keeps Growing
iGaming revenue rose 13% to $97 million, and wagers processed through the company’s Open Gaming System reached a quarterly record of $31.7 billion, up from $28.0 billion. The filing credits momentum in North America, first-party content across more titles and a growing partner network. CDC Gaming named Pirots, Huff n’ Puff and Ultimate Fire Link among the games behind the increase.
What It Means for Players
SciPlay’s games are free-to-play social casino titles, so its figures say more about in-game spending than about real-money play. They show a smaller group of paying players, each spending more on average.
Sweepstakes casinos face legal pressure of their own. Oklahoma’s ban on those using two currencies took effect on November 1, after the quarter ended.
What Happens Next
Light & Wonder expects full-year Consolidated AEBITDA growth “toward the lower end of our previously announced range of mid-to-high single digits.” The principal value of its debt fell $153 million in the quarter to $5.0 billion, and it aims to bring net debt leverage from 3.3x toward 3.0x by the end of 2026.
