LAS VEGAS, NV – Light & Wonder has expanded its multi-year global licensing partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment to create new worlds of play for customers through Light & Wonder’s content aggregation platform. Starting with Willy Wonka™: World of Wanka, which has been a physical slot machine for decades on casino floors – fans will now get to experience the game online.
The long-term agreement will see Light & Wonder’s in-house game development teams leverage a series of successful brand licensing offerings from its long-term partner Warner Bros. Discovery Global Themed Entertainment, with titles across a range of verticals set to hit regulated markets worldwide through the OpenGaming™ ecosystem. The deal represents the next phase of Light & Wonder’s omni-channel content strategy, as the company continues to forge partnerships designed to accelerate its leading position as a premium global content creator.
Willy Wonka: World of Wanka will be the first title to be released as part of the expanded licensing agreement. The slot, which successfully leverages iconic characters and moments from the popular 1971 movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, has been a hit on casino floors throughout the U.S. and globally.
The digital version of the game is expected to release in the U.S., U.K. and Europe. A series of further Wonka-themed titles are scheduled to appear on Light & Wonder’s content aggregation platform across all iGaming verticals.
Light & Wonder is also set to bring The Wizard of Oz™: Road to Emerald City online as part of the global rights agreement, with additional branded games from the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio to follow. As with the Wonka titles, more Wizard of Oz games are planned for release across 2024 and beyond.
“The Warner Bros. Discovery brand portfolio is legendary, and our partnership has led to the creation of some of the world’s most popular casino content, including Willy Wonka: World of Wanka,” said Dylan Slaney, CEO iGaming at Light & Wonder. “To bring this title online for the first time is incredibly exciting and we can’t wait to deliver for our operator partners and their players. This is a huge step forward in terms of presenting our omni-channel vision to the world, as we continue to develop the most entertaining branded content available anywhere on the market.”