Scientific Games Acquires Don Best, Joins Sports Betting Craze

Las Vegas-based slot machine and table game manufacturer, Scientific Games (SG), will buy Don Best Sports Corporation and DBS Canada Corporation (jointly known as Don Best), company representatives have announced. The acquisition will have finalized by the year-end.

“When it comes to sports betting, we’ve been moving at incredible speed, and the Don Best acquisition will add to our unrivaled B2B one-stop shop sports betting solution, already live in Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi. As the leading global supplier of real-time betting data and pricing for the North American sports market, Don Best will bring their unparalleled proprietary pricing services to Scientific Games. As sports betting rapidly gains popularity in the U.S., we’re ready to help our customers capitalize on the new US market while solidifying our long-held leading global position,” says Scientific Games CEO, Barry Cottle.

Scientific Games, Don Best in a Nutshell

On top of manufacturing slot machines and table games, SG also develops lottery and online gaming products. With this latest merger, it will acquire real-time sports betting data (both US and offshore) from Don Best.

Don Best’s platform doesn’t take wagers. Instead, it enables punters to make educated guesses, by allowing for comparison of lines and providing current and historical odds from 50 Las Vegas/offshore sportsbooks.

Entering US Sport Betting Market

SG has only recently made an attempt to enter US sports betting market, following the official ruling to legalize sports wagering countrywide. Last year, the company concluded a $632m acquisition of NYX Gaming Group, obtaining the bespoke OpenBet service thereby.

In partnership with Caesars, Scientific manages the company’s operations in New Jersey and offers sports betting in Mississippi’s Harrah’s Gulf Coast Hotel & Casino and Horseshoe Tunica Hotel & Casino.

Finally, SG has recently appointed ex-Playtech finance director Alexander Ambrose as CFO of its SG Digital subsidiary. The company’s CFO, Michael Quartieri, said on the occasion that Ambrose’s “in-depth financial experience in iGaming” will “position us for growth in our (…) sportsbook.”

Up till now, sports betting has been legalized in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, and Mississippi, with Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Rhode Island expected to follow suit soon.

Big Players in a Rush

With Nevada introducing new sports wagering segments (such as in-play betting, points spread, and over/under) in addition to single-game moneyline, sports betting operators have been jumping on the bandwagon.

The latest additions include British bookmaker, William Hill, which has signed a deal with Golden Entertainment that will allow it to manage business’ sports services in Nevada, Maryland, and Montana. Back in September, William Hill partnered with IGT Technologies, taking over IGT’s services at Twin River- and Tiverton Casino. Barely those two deals make the British bookmarker the biggest one to have entered the US market so far.

On top of SG and William Hill, numerous other companies are joining in the race in a rush. Naming hereby only a few: FanDuel, Westgate, DraftKings, Bet365, GVC, 888, SBTech, and BetStars.

Source:

“Scientific Games Announces Acquisition of Don Best Sports”, George Miller, europeangaming.eu, October 9, 2018.