TheScore Options Traders Place Bets On Canadian Sports Betting Legalization

Score Media And Gaming Inc. SCR has been ripping higher since putting in a low at $12.95 in mid-May. The Toronto-based online sports betting and e-gaming company has seen renewed interest in its stock as Canada nears sports betting legalization.

What To Know: This week, Bl C-218 is up for its third and final reading in the Canadian senate. If passed, the bill will be sent to the Governor General for Royal Assent and become law soon after.

Bill C-218, started by House of Commons member Kevin Waugh, is a private member’s bill, however, and the Canadian senate deals with government business before dealing with private members’ bills. This has caused the bill to be repeatedly pushed back.

On Wednesday, Senator David Wells of Newfoundland and Labrador said while it's unlikely the third reading will take place on Wednesday, he's hopeful it will get done this week.

TheScore was trading up almost 70% from its lows in anticipation of the bill passing its last hurdle. Although when a stock runs up into a known event there is danger the outcome will be "sell the news" and the stock will drop, two options traders placed big bets Tuesday and Wednesday theScore is set to rocket higher.

In total, the call contracts purchased total $133,600. The two large call contracts are notable because institutions very rarely buy options for this company.

See Also: How Does Sports Betting Work?

Why It’s Important: When a sweep order occurs, it indicates the trader wanted to get into a position quickly and is anticipating an imminent large move in stock price. A sweeper pays market price for the call option instead of placing a bid, which sweeps the order book of multiple exchanges to fill the order immediately.

These types of call option orders are usually made by institutions, and retail investors can find watching for sweepers useful because it indicates “smart money” has entered into a position.

The Score Media And Gaming Option Trades: Below is a look at the most notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

• At 11:25 a.m., Tuesday a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 334 Score Media And Gaming options with a strike price of $22.50 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $65,130 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.95 per option contract.
• At 9:41 a.m., Wednesday a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 334 Score Media And Gaming options with a strike price of $20 expiring on June 18. The trade represented a $68,470 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.05 per option contract.

SCR Price Action: The Score Media And Gaming was trading down 1.5% to $25.80 at publication time.