Liberty Media’s deal to acquire Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves could hit a hitch because the Douglas County-based company owns the Internet’s premier sports-betting information website.
Liberty’s ownership of DonBest .com – which provides gamblers with betting lines, “expert” picks and other information to help them win money on sporting events – presents a conflict of interest, said sports-business expert Dave Smrek.
“I think Major League Baseball would have to take a long, hard look at it,” said Smrek, principal of Denver-based Adrenalin, a sports-consulting firm. “In one way or another, it needs to be addressed.”
Liberty’s agreement to acquire the Braves from Time Warner as part of an asset swap requires approval from 75 percent of major-league team owners.
Major League Baseball has long abhorred its teams’ having ties with gambling operations. MLB spokesman Rich ard Levin said Wednesday he couldn’t comment about what impact Liberty’s interest in DonBest might have on the approval process.
In response to an e-mail questioning DonBest’s operations and its potential impact on the Braves deal, Liberty spokesman John Orr wrote, “We have no comment.” DonBest is operated by Toronto-based Fun Technologies. Liberty paid $195 million last year for a 51 percent stake in Fun.
Described in a 2003 New York Times article as the “Bloomberg of sports betting,” DonBest charges users $600 a month for up-to-the- minute betting odds on games in every major sport, including baseball.
“It’s definitely the No. 1 sports-betting-line service online,” said gambling expert Ken Weitzner, president of EyeOnGambling.com. “There’s not even a close second; it’s that popular.”
Betting on major sports such as baseball in the United States is legal only at casino sports books in Las Vegas.
DonBest features betting lines from offshore sports books such as TheGreek.com and Sportsbook.com. The U.S. Department of Justice last year launched a major crackdown on online gambling, arresting executives of sites such as Bet OnSports.com while they traveled in the U.S.
It’s unclear whether DonBest, which hasn’t been targeted by the U.S. government, receives revenue from illegal sports-betting websites.
“Obviously, any direct ties with illegal gambling presents a problem for baseball,” said Levin, the MLB spokesman.
DonBest also offers picks from its sports experts that are guaranteed to make money for users or they don’t have to pay the fees, which range from $25 to $40 per package of daily picks.
Liberty shouldn’t have a problem divesting DonBest if it is asked to do so to get the Braves deal approved, Smrek said. “For them, this is a pretty small play,” he said.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
Corporate players: Baseball teams owned by corporations
Douglas County-based Liberty Media would become one of four corporate entities to own a major-league baseball team if its purchase of the Atlanta Braves is approved:
Atlanta Braves
Time Warner’s Turner Sports
Chicago Cubs
Tribune Co.
Seattle Mariners
Nintendo
Toronto Blue Jays
Rogers Communications
Sources: mlb.com, Hoover’s Company Records Ted Turner of Turner Sports
