ELK Studios
Also known as: ELKAB Studios AB
ELK Studios is a Stockholm slot developer owned by Light & Wonder since December 2021. It ships two proprietary systems: X-iter, a paid bonus-entry and game-mode selector built into its platform, and Betting Strategies, a set of automated stake-adjustment options. Its games are distributed through Light & Wonder's OpenGaming ecosystem.
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Ownership
- Light & Wonder, Inc. (ASX: LNW), acquired as Scientific Games on 1 December 2021.
- Licences
- UKGC (Elkab Studios AB, account 40844), MGA (MGA/B2B/605/2018), Romania ONJN, Sweden SGA, Ontario AGCO, Greece
- Products
- slots
- Also known as
- ELKAB Studios AB
- Website
- www.elk-studios.com
History
ELK Studios was founded in Stockholm in 2013 and released its first slot, The Lab, in 2014. It built mobile-first from the outset and added a set of in-client betting strategies — Optimizer, Booster, Leveller and Jumper — that adjust stake size automatically according to preset rules; these are reported to be disabled in the most tightly regulated markets, including Great Britain. The Swedish listed investment company Transferator held a stake from 2015.
Scientific Games announced completion of its acquisition of ELK Studios on 1 December 2021 without disclosing a price; Transferator separately disclosed that it sold its holding for around SEK 110m in cash plus earn-outs. Scientific Games renamed itself Light & Wonder in March 2022, so ELK is a Light & Wonder studio today — not the independent Stockholm studio it is still commonly described as. Its games are served from the contentmedia.eu infrastructure that Light & Wonder uses across its digital catalogue, which is a clear technical marker of the ownership.
Notable
- Acquired by Scientific Games on 1 December 2021 and now a Light & Wonder studio — it is not independent, though it is still routinely listed as such.
- Its games are served from contentmedia.eu, Light & Wonder's own game-delivery domain, which is the clearest technical evidence of the ownership.
- Ships X-iter, a paid bonus-entry and mode-selection system built into its platform rather than into individual games.
- Its Betting Strategies automatically vary stake size on prior outcomes and are reported to be disabled in Great Britain and other strict markets.
- Founded 2013; first game, The Lab, released 2014 — which settles the 2012-versus-2013 dating.
Notable work
- Wild Toro
- Nitropolis
- Bloopers
- Ecuador Gold
- Sam on the Beach
How well established
The 2013 founding, the December 2021 acquisition and Transferator's disclosed proceeds are documented. The price Scientific Games paid was never disclosed, and the claim that the betting strategies are disabled in Great Britain and other strict markets is reported rather than confirmed.
