Scientific Games agreed to acquire Bally Technologies for about $3.3 billion, excluding net debt, buying up a bigger rival as consolidation in the slot-machine industry accelerates. Scientific Games, controlled by billionaire Ronald Perelman, will pay $83.30 in cash per Bally common share, the companies said in a statement today, a premium of 38 percent over Bally’s closing price yesterday. It’s the second acquisition over $1 billion in less than a year for Scientific Games, at a time the gambling-equipment sector faces weaker consumer spending, casino gluts and competition from Web competitors. With Las Vegas-based Bally, the company is gaining a maker of lottery-game and schuffling machines that was more than three times larger based on market capitalizations at the close yesterday. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-01/scientific-games-buys-bally-technologies-for-5-1-billion.html