- Bally’s has announced the acquisition of free-to-play game platform SportCaller.
- Bally’s is the rebranded company formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings.
- The company has been hard at work building a portfolio to leverage the continued growth of sports betting in the United States.
Less than two weeks removed from Bally Corporation’s purchase of DFS provider Monkey Knife Fight they’ve announced another acquisition. This time, it’s free to play game platform provider SportCaller. The plan is to use SportCaller’s technology along with that of recently acquired Bet.Works to promote sports betting in currently active US jurisdictions as well as future markets planning to come on board.
Here’s how the Bally Corporation (NYSE: BALY) announced the purchase and their plans for SportCaller in a press release:
Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY) (the “Company”), a leading U.S. provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, today announced that it acquired SportCaller, one of the leading B2B free-to-play (F2P) game providers for sports betting and media companies across North America, the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, LATAM and Africa. With deep technology and product expertise, SportCaller’s core products consist of prediction, quiz/trivia, pay-to-play, bespoke and turn-key app games. In 2020, SportCaller received the Acquisition and Retention Partner Award from both SBC and EGR B2B.
As a leading global F2P sports game provider, SportCaller complements Bally’s recently announced acquisitions of Bet.Works and Monkey Knife Fight, and its media partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group. Together with Bet.Works’ proprietary technology stack, SportCaller is expected to enable Bally’s to launch its own suite of F2P games this year. The acquisition will also allow Bally’s to leverage Sinclair’s media reach to expand its player database in states that currently do not permit sports betting, as well as generate excitement for Bally’s sports betting app.
Further, SportCaller will allow Bally’s to use F2P games as an additional player engagement and retention tool in states that authorize sports betting. With more than 100 games in over 20 languages, and over 30 sports across 37 countries, SportCaller’s platform is expected to considerably expand Bally’s strong geographic presence beyond national borders.
As the announcement intimates, Bally’s has been extremely active over the past few months building out the iconic brand name they’ve acquired and revamping their business portfolio to better leverage the growth in US sports betting. Back in December 2020, they opened the FanDuel branded sportsbook at their eponymous Atlantic City property. The former Twin River Worldwide Holdings purchased Bally’s Atlantic City from Caesars Entertainment in a deal that closed in late November. In addition, Twin River purchased the entire Bally’s brand from Caesars and rebranded as Bally’s Corporation. With an open spot in the retail sportsbook a result of the deal Bally’s Corporation has partnered with FanDuel to take over the bookmaking operations at their Atlantic City property.
Over the past month they’ve acquired sports betting technology platform Bet.Works in an all stock deal expected to close in Q1 of 2021. They’ve also entered into a very intriguing partnership with the Sinclair Broadcast Group that among other things will see the 21 regional Fox Sports Channels rebrand using the Bally’s name. The acquisition of Monkey Knife Fight made them at the time the third US sports betting company to have a fantasy sports division ‘in house’. The SportCaller is just another piece of the puzzle as it is evident that Bally’s sees a lucrative future in the US sports betting market.
George Papanier, Bally’s President and Chief Executive Officer, had this comment about his company’s purchase of SportCaller:
“I am delighted to welcome SportCaller to Bally’s Interactive alongside Bet.Works and Monkey Knife Fight. F2P products represent a core component of our interactive strategy to drive user acquisition to Bally’s ecosystem. SportCaller offers unique products and I am confident that its pioneering platform and deep international expertise will significantly contribute to our growing interactive platforms.”
SportCaller founder Cillian Barry is pleased to be joining up with the Bally’s family:
“Joining Bally’s is a milestone moment for the SportCaller team. I look forward to working with Bally’s talented team as we continue to create an innovative F2P product that engages sports fans on a global scale.”
Bally’s has very quietly become a US gaming company on the move. They own 11 casinos in 7 states and when pending acquisitions close they’ll own and run 15 casinos in 11 states. They are also in the process of building a land based casino in State College, PA. They’ve also got a horse track and 13 OTB licenses in Colorado that will become extremely valuable if as expected the state expands sports betting to horse tracks and OTBs.
At the time of publication, James Murphy has a long position in BALY.
