Light & Wonder has secured Simon Johnson as the new leader for its igaming division, with the inbound CEO set to report directly to the online casino supplier’s President and CEO Matt Wilson.
Dylan Slaney stepped down from the role in November of last year, stating he was leaving for personal reasons, having held the position for roughly four years.
“We’ve been on an incredible journey in our igaming business over the last seven years, and we want to thank Dylan and the entire igaming team for building the igaming business into what it is today,” Light & Wonder said at the time of his departure. “We have unwavering faith in our current team’s ability to unlock even greater opportunity moving forward.”
Like Slaney before him, Johnson is an internal hire with a substantial history with the company. He first joined the organization as part of the UK division of the company before it split off from Scientific Games. While at Light & Wonder, he first served as the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa Division. Since September 2022, he has served as the Senior Vice President and International Managing Director, which expanded the scope of his role to include the rest of Asia as well as Australia.
“As we embark on a new year, I am energized by the opportunities ahead and eager to work with our incredibly talented igaming team across the world,” Johnson wrote on his LinkedIn profile.
Johnson assumes the role at the start of another year of legislative efforts to expand igaming in the US. Bills are already filed to legalize online casinos in both Virginia and Maryland.
It also comes as the company handles several different legal matters, including the ongoing case in Nevada involving Aristocrat and its slot title Dragon Train.