Sports betting isn’t legal, but firms are jockeying already

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Some gambling technology companies expect the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize sports betting and are jockeying for position in the new industry months before a decision is even rendered.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in Atlantic City shines some light on the scramble. NYX Gaming Group Ltd., a company based on the British island of Guernsey, is suing London-based William Hill PLC over Las Vegas-based Scientific Games Corp.’s proposed acquisition of NYX.

William Hill owns stock in NYX and is threatening to use its voting shares to block the acquisition unless it receives certain assurances from Scientific Games about what the newly merged company will and won’t be able to do.

NYX, a leading provider of gambling software, terms those requests “extortionate” and anti-competitive, according to its lawsuit. They include demands that Scientific Games not compete with William Hill, and that it hand over source code for some NYX products.

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Schwartz predicted other companies likely to seek a share of a U.S. sports betting market include CG Technology; the South Point Race Book; and Boyd Gaming, all based in Las Vegas. He also predicted some startup firms headed by gambling industry veterans will emerge.

In a report last month, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC, which tracks state-by-state gambling legislation, predicted legal sports betting could be offered in 32 states within five years if the Supreme Court rules in favor of New Jersey.

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