Scientific Games CEO Pat McHugh to retire, Kevin Schneider named interim successor
The CEO of gaming technology company Scientific Games Pat McHugh will retire on 8 September this year after over 20 years with the company. Kevin Schneider will take over as Interim Chief Executive while the Board of Directors searches for a permanent replacement.
McHugh will move into a Vice Chair position after his retirement, remaining involved with Scientific Games in an advisory role.
McHugh joined Scientific Games in 2004, after starting his lottery career with gaming technology company GTECH in 1992. He held several leadership positions in Scientific Games before becoming its CEO in 2022.
“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Pat for his leadership and his many contributions to Scientific Games over the past two decades. Throughout his career, Pat has helped strengthen the company, expand its global lottery business and build trusted relationships with customers around the world. We appreciate his continued support during this transition,” commented David Nowak, Chairman of Scientific Games.
“The Board has initiated the search for our next CEO and has full confidence in Kevin to lead the company as Interim CEO. Serving on the Board since 2022 and as Vice Chair since March 2026, Kevin has a deep understanding of our business, and he is a proven leader,” furthered the executive.
“Kevin and our experienced leadership team will continue executing the company’s strategy while providing the continuity and service our customers have come to expect as the Board conducts its search for our next CEO,” indicated Nowak.
Schneider brings over 35 years of experience in regulated industries, including leadership roles at financial services companies Genworth Financial and GE Capital, as well as at the global leasing company GATX. In a statement, he thanked Scientific Games and the Board’s confidence in him to serve the position.
The leadership change comes as Scientific Games continues to expand its presence in the lottery market. The company’s recent expansion of services with the Minnesota Lottery, Arizona Lottery and Iowa Lottery reflects a wider shift among lotteries toward more advanced technology solutions as they adapt to developing player preferences and expectations.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
Dig Deeper
Related stories
The Backstory
Leadership shift comes amid a broader lottery technology push
Scientific Games’ coming CEO transition lands at a pivotal point for a company that has spent the past several years sharpening its focus on lotteries, digital content and regulated-market technology. Pat McHugh’s retirement after more than 20 years with the company closes a period in which Scientific Games expanded its global lottery footprint, deepened relationships with government customers and positioned itself as a key systems provider as lotteries modernize retail and digital channels.
The appointment of Kevin Schneider as interim chief executive is intended to preserve continuity while the board searches for a permanent successor. That continuity matters because Scientific Games operates in a business built on long procurement cycles, public-sector trust and regulated execution. Lottery agencies are not simply buying games; they are relying on suppliers for central systems, retail networks, player-facing content, responsible gambling tools and, increasingly, digital infrastructure.
The company’s recent activity shows why the leadership change is more than a personnel update. Scientific Games has been adding systems work in U.S. states, expanding its content hub for ilottery customers and securing approvals in emerging regulated markets. Those moves have reinforced its standing with 150 lotteries in 50 countries, but they also raise the stakes for management stability at a time when lotteries face pressure to attract new players without undermining public confidence.
State contracts show the value of modernization
Scientific Games’ U.S. work has centered on helping established lotteries update systems that must serve retailers, regulators and players at the same time. In Arizona, the company recently launched new systems technology across the state lottery, including upgrades tied to draw games and the addition of Powerball Double Play. The project ran on the company’s Momentum platform, covering central gaming and retailer management systems across the lottery’s network.
That Arizona Lottery systems upgrade illustrated the strategic importance of technology renewals. Scientific Games has supplied the Arizona Lottery for 45 years and has been its systems technology partner since 2015, a tenure that underscores how entrenched supplier relationships can become when execution is reliable. The upgrade also included improvements to gem | suite, software used for licensing, communications and business intelligence across about 3,600 retailers.
For state lotteries, such projects are a way to preserve relevance in a market reshaped by mobile entertainment, online betting and changing consumer habits. For Scientific Games, they are a way to expand from ticket and game supply into higher-value technology infrastructure. Systems contracts can bind suppliers and lotteries for years, creating recurring revenue and opportunities to layer on digital games, analytics and new player products.
The Arizona work also connected directly to public-finance stakes. The state lottery has generated more than $5.9 billion for programs since 1981, including higher education, economic development, environmental conservation and health and human services. That public-benefit role defines the lottery sector and explains why modernization tends to be framed not only as commercial growth, but as protection of revenue streams for state priorities.
Digital content strategy broadens the customer base
Alongside systems work, Scientific Games has been building its ilottery content strategy. The company’s SG Content Hub is designed to give government-regulated lotteries access to a broader catalogue of digital games across languages, mechanics and play styles. That effort reflects a larger shift in which lotteries want to compete for digital attention while maintaining the guardrails expected of public gaming operators.
A recent example was the decision to add Pixiu Gaming to the SG Content Hub. Through the Pixiu Gaming ilottery content partnership, Scientific Games said it would bring new Monopoly and Battleship games to market through its relationship with Hasbro. The move paired a younger digital studio with globally recognized brands, aiming to broaden lottery game appeal without losing the familiarity that licensed properties can provide.
The brand element is important. Monopoly and Battleship offer built-in recognition, which can lower the barrier for casual players in digital lottery environments. Scientific Games and Hasbro have also extended their licensing relationship through 2025, according to the company’s announcement at Scientific Games’ Hasbro licensing agreement. Those licenses help the company turn well-known consumer brands into lottery content suited for regulated operators.
Digital expansion, however, requires careful calibration. Lotteries need products that are engaging enough to compete with other forms of online entertainment, but restrained enough to satisfy public officials, regulators and responsible gambling expectations. That balance makes content curation a strategic issue, not just a product decision. It also explains why Scientific Games has emphasized “brand-sensitive” digital game experiences and a range of mechanics rather than a single format.
Responsible gambling remains a commercial requirement
Scientific Games’ responsible gambling credentials have become part of its competitive position. The company recently achieved re-certification for the Responsible Gambling Certificate of Alignment from the World Lottery Association, covering its global operations as a technology provider. That World Lottery Association re-certification reinforced the company’s message that responsible gaming tools are embedded in its products and operations.
The certification history matters because Scientific Games was among the first organizations to receive WLA certification as a responsible gaming supplier in 2015 and has since earned multiple re-certifications. Its Healthy Play program, launched in 2022, provides lotteries with research-based tools intended to support safer play, strengthen lottery literacy and help agencies explain how games work.
In the lottery sector, responsible gambling is closely tied to public legitimacy. Unlike commercial casinos or private betting operators, lotteries often exist to raise money for public programs. That model creates a dual obligation: generating revenue while avoiding the perception that growth is coming at the expense of vulnerable players. Suppliers that can demonstrate harm-minimization practices may have an advantage when competing for government contracts.
The re-certification also gives context to the CEO transition. A permanent successor will inherit a company whose growth prospects depend partly on trust with public agencies and regulators. Product innovation can open new markets, but responsible gambling standards help determine whether those markets remain politically and socially sustainable.
New jurisdictions add growth and scrutiny
Scientific Games’ international expansion is also moving into jurisdictions where commercial gaming regulation is still developing. The company recently announced that it had been licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority as a gaming-related vendor in the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates vendor license allows Scientific Games to supply lottery products and services in a market seeking to build regulated commercial gaming under a federal framework.
The UAE regulator was established in 2023 to oversee commercial gaming activities, including lottery, internet gaming, sports wagering and land-based gaming facilities. For Scientific Games, the approval provides a foothold in a market that could become significant if regulation develops as planned. For the UAE, working with established suppliers can help import operational expertise, integrity controls and responsible-practice frameworks as the country constructs a gaming market from the ground up.
That opportunity comes with scrutiny. New gaming jurisdictions often attract close attention from policymakers, investors and social critics. The early supplier group can influence standards for product design, revenue allocation and player protection. Scientific Games’ existing WLA credentials and lottery experience give it tools to compete in such markets, but execution will determine whether those credentials translate into durable contracts.
The company’s international push also diversifies its growth beyond mature U.S. lottery markets. Mature jurisdictions offer renewal and upgrade opportunities; emerging jurisdictions offer potentially larger structural growth but higher political and regulatory uncertainty. Managing both types of markets will be a central task for whoever follows McHugh permanently.
Industry change keeps pressure on established suppliers
The broader gaming market is being reshaped by startups, new formats and unresolved regulatory questions. Sue Schneider, a longtime igaming executive with no relation indicated to Kevin Schneider in the company announcement, recently described an industry still cycling through new jurisdictions, regulatory stabilization and disputes over products that test legal boundaries. Her work with Defy The Odds, detailed in her push to support igaming innovators, reflects the continued flow of new companies trying to enter the sector.
Those dynamics matter for Scientific Games even though its core lottery business is more institutional than the startup-heavy igaming market. Lotteries must still respond to consumer expectations shaped by digital casinos, sports betting, sweepstakes products and prediction markets. If government lotteries fail to modernize, players may migrate to less regulated alternatives. If they modernize too aggressively, they risk political backlash.
That tension defines the backdrop to McHugh’s retirement. Scientific Games is not facing a single inflection point so much as a set of linked pressures: maintain public trust, modernize legacy systems, expand digital content, secure new-market licenses and defend long-term customer relationships. Schneider’s interim role is to keep that strategy moving while the board searches for a leader who can manage both the conservatism of lottery procurement and the pace of digital gaming innovation.
The next CEO will inherit a company with scale, trusted customer relationships and multiple avenues for growth. The challenge will be converting those advantages into sustained expansion without weakening the regulatory and public-interest foundations on which the lottery business depends.
