Scientific Games Continues Focus on Sports Betting With New Portfolio of Applications

Posted on: April 22, 2019, 08:25h. 

Last updated on: April 22, 2019, 08:25h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Scientific Games Corp. announced late last week the launching of a suite of products for use by sportsbooks.

Earlier this year, Harrah’s Philadelphia opened its sportsbook. Harrah’s parent company partnered with Scientific Games to provide the technology platform for the casino’s retail book. (Image: David Swanson/Philly.com)

The company, which processes more online sports bets than any other company, said in a statement that OpenSports is a slate of products designed to help enhance the experience for the customers of their sportsbook clients.

In addition to OpenBet, which the gaming technology company has used to launch sportsbooks for Caesars Entertainment in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, Scientific Games unveiled new products designed to complement its existing service.

The products include OpenPlatform, which provides account management solutions, including managing customers’ winnings. OpenTrade, which uses data from Don Best Sports, provides pricing and oddsmaking solutions. Open Engage offers interfaces for sportsbooks to use on their online applications and retail kiosks. Open Accelerate offers solutions for books to run their daily activities.

The turnkey applications are available together or can be sold separately.

Year of Growth

In the past year, Scientific Games has seen its American business grow thanks to the expansion of legalized sports betting after the Supreme Court declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional.

The company helped Caesars Entertainment ramp up the resort company’s sportsbook operations in New Jersey and Mississippi in less than three months after the ruling. In January, the companies reached an agreement for Scientific Games to provide its platform at Caesar’s Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack.

In between those announcements, Scientific Games also closed on the acquisition of Don Best Sports. The purchase gave the company access to one of the world’s top oddsmaking solutions as well as insights into the North American sports markets.

“We’re joining the Scientific Games team during a transformational time in the sports betting space, and our offerings are the perfect complement to the Company’s already strong portfolio of products and services,” said Benjie Cherniak, Don Best’s managing director, in a statement when the purchase closed.

Sports Leads to iGaming

Not all the growth is domestic for the Las Vegas-based company. It’s also announced deals in Turkey and New Zealand to implement its sports betting solutions.

With all the recent contracts, Scientific Games is processing an average of 20,000 glitch-free bets per minute. Last year, the company handled more than 2.4 billion sports bets worldwide.

In a recent conference call with investment analysts, Barry Cottle, Scientific Games CEO, said the American marketplace, which is less than a year-old, has not yet matured.

We expect it will take a few, a couple, two to three years before that market becomes material, but obviously with the opportunity in the US and North America,” Cottle said. “It’s something that we and others believe in — will bear fruit.”

For the time being, Cottle said the debate about sports betting in state capitols is also leading to talk of online casino gaming. That’s another key market for Scientific Games. In New Jersey, Cottle’s company runs the gaming platforms for roughly half of the online gaming companies in the state. That includes a deal with DraftKings in New Jersey.