Scientific Games Corp. has announced that Victor Blanco, a longtime executive of rival slot supplier Aristocrat Leisure Limited, will join SG as chief technology officer in 2022, following the expiration of a non-compete agreement.
Blanco has been chief technology officer for Aristocrat since 2016, and previously was vice president of global platforms for that company for six years. He will be the latest in a number of former Aristocrat executives to join Scientific Games under new Chairman Jamie Odell, himself former Aristocrat CEO. Under Odell, SG has added former Aristocrat executives including CEO of Gaming Matt Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer Siobhan Lane, CFO Connie James and Executive Vice Chair Toni Korsanos.
In his new role, Blanco will oversee Scientific Games’ technology strategy to support the company’s leadership across gaming, lottery, sports betting and iGaming, as well as support the development and execution of the Company’s great games.
“Victor’s innovative and strategic approach to both software and hardware design is a great fit for our Scientific Games leadership team,” said Scientific Games President and CEO Barry Cottle. “We know that his leadership will ensure we are providing the most innovative games, systems and products for our partners and players.”
At Aristocrat, Blanco led technology strategy and was instrumental in building the technologies and teams that contributed to a successful turnaround for Aristocrat’s land-based gaming business. He also led Aristocrat’s expansion into social casino and casual games.
Prior to joining Aristocrat, Blanco served as the director of software architecture for HTC and served in multiple software engineering roles at Microsoft, where Blanco was part of the team that developed the first Xbox game console and online service.
“Scientific Games has always been at the forefront of innovation, and I can’t wait to join this team,” Blanco said. “The dream of any technology strategist is to work at an organization like Scientific Games where creativity and innovation are at the heart of the company.”
