Scientific Games Acquires Don Best Sports

The parade of change continues in the nation’s nascent sports wagering industry with today’s announcement that Scientific Games Corporation is acquiring Las Vegas-based Don Best Sports Corporation and DBS Canada Corporation for an undisclosed purchase price.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

The purchase became public knowledge early Tuesday and a key Don Best executive confirmed the sale to Sports Handle, saying he would provide a company statement soon, but cannot comment further right now because of “public company sensitivities.”

Scientific Games Buys Don Best Sports, Expands Company’s Sports Betting Offerings, Particularly in the U.S. 

Don Best has been a major sports wagering information provider for decades, orchestrating worldwide sports betting through its “Official International Rotation” listing games for all major U.S. sports leagues, time changes, game locations and betting numbers in a specific order or rotation.

Additionally, the company provides an odds service that compares the betting lines at numerous betting shops in the U.S. and offshore. It also provides real-time forms of wagering information known as “screens” to gamblers and bookmaking operations.

The move further buttresses Scientific Games’ expanding sports betting offerings, especially in the U.S., by adding Don Best’s Las Vegas-based trading room for “in-play” betting to its sports wagering platform, “Open Bet.” The Don Best trading operation is believed to be a key element to the deal because “in-play” betting is the fastest growing segment of the expanding U.S. sports wagering marketplace. Upon closing of the acquisition, Don Best will become part of Scientific Games’ SG Digital division.

DraftKings, the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) leader, recently hired several key Las Vegas bookies away from major casino/resorts, including John Avello, longtime head bookie at Wynn Resorts, in a move believed to be aimed an establishing its own trading operation in Las Vegas.

A trading room, such as Don Best’s provides experienced personnel who watch games and set odds and prices as a sports contest progresses. An NBA game can provide scores of betting opportunities within a game. This information is almost instantaneously available to bookmakers in regulated markets worldwide, who then offer bets to their mobile customers.

Don Best Has Rich History and Is One of Only Two Trading Rooms in Las Vegas

Don Best, itself, takes no wagers.

For decades, Don Best Sports has had a rich tradition in Las Vegas. The Don Best rotation information in the print form, and now online, continues to be an important element to anyone who books or bets on games.

 Its trading room, along with the one at William Hill US are believed to be the only two currently operating in Las Vegas.

Scientific Games, although a longtime global leader in technology-based gaming systems, table games, table products and instant games including products, services and content for gaming, lottery and interactive gaming markets, has only recently began to emphasize sports betting in an effort to expand its European presence in the sports betting world to the expanding U.S. market.

That market continues to grow as more and more states have legalized or expect to legalize sports wagering since May when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.