Equity Method Investment, Reporting Lag Period

No definition available.

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This item represents the amount of net sales proceeds received on disposal of an equity method investment.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 35
-Paragraph 35
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49116238&loc=d3e32847-111569

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentNetSalesProceeds
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The difference between the carrying value and the sale price of equity securities, not separately or otherwise categorized as trading or available-for-sale. This element includes investments in which the entity holds a small ownership stake (generally, less than 20% of the shares outstanding) and cannot exert significant influence.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56944662&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 225
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-04.13(h))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879574&loc=d3e536633-122882

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfEquityInvestments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentsLineItems
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Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=sgms_SportechPlcMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Equity Investments - Sportech (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2014 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Gain on sale of equity interest			$ 0.0	$ 14.5		$ 0.0
Sportech
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Equity interest (as a percent)			20.00%	20.00%	20.00%
Time lag allowed under Accounting Standards Codification (in days)			90 days
Sales proceeds	$ 44.9	£ 27.8
Gain on sale of equity interest				$ 14.5	£ 9.0