Scientific Games Takes Over SportCast
Author:
Megan Butler
Global supplier of lottery solutions and online gambling Scientific Games has just revealed that it has acquired purveyor of player engagement technology SportCast — developers of the pioneering BetBuilder platform. Provider of various engagement tools, SportCast’s best-known BetBuilder product allows players to bet on multiple markets in the same game.
Global lottery and online gambling supplier Scientific Games has just acquired supplier of player engagement technology SportCast — developers of the pioneering BetBuilder platform. ?StockSnap/Pixabay
Takeover of SportCast Welcomed at Scientific Games
Lottery and online gaming giant Scientific Games has announced its acquisition of player engagement technology provider SportCast. The company is best known for developing the innovative BetBuilder platform in 2017 in partnership with data supplier Genius, which allows players to be on several different markets during the course of the same game, as well as other various engagement tools for operators.
Emphasizing how single-game multiples have increased in popularity across North America in conjunction with the spread of legal gambling across the nation, executive vice president for Sports at Scientific Games Keith O’Loughlin expressed the group’s excitement at acquiring SportCast and its accompanying BetBuilder platform.
“For sports fans, the ability to define the story of the game, bet on it and watch it live has become a thrilling way to engage in the action. SportCast’s technology and platforms will help us fuel the next wave of our data-driven, global sports expansion. The award-winning BetBuilder product is just the first of many innovative products that can be powered by the underlying platform for the benefit of our customers and we’re thrilled to be able to roll these out.”– Keith O’Loughlin, Executive Vice President for Sports, Scientific Games
SportCast’s Innovative Technology Expected to Help Scientific Games Grow
With clients already including the likes of BetMGM, PointsBet, SkyBet, Tabcorp, Entain, 888, Betsson, Danske Spil, Nederlandse Loterij and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) — Scientific Games’ takeover of SportCast is expected to only add to the group’s significant growth in recent years.
Scientific Games digital group chief executive Jordan Levin welcomed SportCast along with its managing director Ryan Coombs in a recent statement:
“We’re excited to welcome Ryan Coombs and his incredible team of product experts, data scientists, statisticians and developers to the home of global sports technology. The team at SportCast shares our focus on performance-at-scale and fan engagement, and the integration of their impressive platform and innovative approach will set Scientific Games apart as we build on our market leadership.”
Including their statement within Scientific Games’ press release on the matter, SportCast managing director Ryan Coombs also expressed confidence that Scientific Games’ resources would help the technology provider continue to grow.
“Choosing the right partner to accelerate our vision was the key focus for our management team. Scientific Games’ position in the global market and the profile of their customer base are second to none. We set out to re-imagine the sportsbook of the future – smart, high-margin and simple for operators – whilst offering unparalleled next generation experiences for players. With Scientific Games’ fire power, we’re set to move faster and drive deeper innovation on our journey to power the future of sports betting.”
Scientific Games Experienced Slight Growth in Q1 2021
Earlier in May 2021, global gaming provider Scientific games released its financial results covering the first quarter of 2021, revealing how its revenue trended upwards, while overall losses sank by more than 90% due to lottery and digital offerings managing to offset its low physical gambling machine performance.
Slight growth across its digital, social gaming and lottery verticals managed to make up for a drop in gaming machine sales during the three months leading up to March 31st, 2021, with overall group revenue rising by 0.6% up to a total of $729 million.
Revenue generated from the various services which Scientific Gaming provides totaled $463 million, which was up 7.9%, with instant products’ contribution growing by 20.0% up to $162 million. However, revenue from its product sales fell by 38.1%, down to $104 million.
Scientific Games’ lottery division was the company’s largest contributor to its group revenue, perhaps unsurprisingly, with revenue in this segment growing by 17.0% up to $248 million. Most growth here was generated from outside of the United States.
Normally the operator’s largest contributing segment, land-based SG Gaming actually saw its revenue drop by 23.1% during the first quarter of 2021, down to $248 million. This was largely due to a decrease in gaming machine sales, likely due to restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Finally, the group’s social gaming division SciPlay saw its revenue grow healthily, up by 28% to $151 million, largely fueled by the continued growth of mobile gaming. The online platform SG Digital’s revenue grew by 11.9% to $86 million, following a rise in gaming revenue helping offset a decline in sports betting.
Stronger Q1 2021 Results Follow a Weak Q3 2020 for Scientific Gaming
Encouraging revenue results for 2021’s first quarter are sure to be welcome news at Scientific Gaming following disappointing performances in Q3 2020, when the group announced significant losses.
During the third quarter of 2020, Scientific Games generated a total revenue of $698 million, representing a decline of 49% from the same period in 2019 ($855 million). The second quarter of 2020 saw brick-and-mortar casinos close due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, also causing lottery ticket sales to fall; the company earned $539 million as a result.
Scientific Games therefore experienced a net loss of $111 million during Q3 2020, attributed mostly to widespread losses in the global market due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, it is worth noting that debt remeasurement for the company also played a role here, adding a loss of $24 million.
Scientific Games Made In-Roads in West Virginia in December 2020
In related news, Scientific Games partnered with leading online sportsbook FanDuel in December 2020 to launch the company’s first US online sportsbook in the state of West Virginia.
Thanks to this recent partnership, users of FanDuel will now be able to access online gambling content with Scientific Games’ premiere OpenBet betting engine — a platform which boasts a multitude of software options for online sportsbooks, including risk and liability management, turnkey frontends, and technology solutions.
