- Bally’s Corporation is now an Official Sports Betting Partner of the National Hockey League (NHL).
- Bally’s is the fifth North American facing sportsbook to receive this designation joining BetMGM, William Hill, FanDuel and PointsBet.
- Bally’s is the rebranded name of the company previous known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings.
We’ve talked a lot about Bally’s Corporation in the past couple of months and for good reason. Ever since Twin River Worldwide Holdings rebranded as Bally’s Corporation in late November they’ve been on a tear. Among other things, they’ve set themselves up as perhaps the most fully integrated sports betting provider in the North American market. Since November, they’ve purchased sports betting technology provider Bet.Works, daily fantasy sports platform Monkey Knife Fight, and free to play platform provider SportCaller. Arguably their most intriguing and transformative move is a deal with the Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation that will have the regional sports networks formerly owned by FOX Sports (eg: FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southwest) rebranded under the Bally’s name with a significant influx of sports betting related content. Check out this graphic:
The regional sports networks will transition over to Bally’s’ branding in the next few months and become:
Bally Sports Arizona, Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Oklahoma, Bally Sports San Diego, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West, and Bally Sports Wisconsin.
For those of you who are more visual learners here’s a map of the new networks from CordCuttersNews.com.
If you want to read the full press release announcing the deal and what it means you can do so here:
Here’s the press release revealing the logo and the Bally’s rebranded sports network names:
BALLY’S BECOMES AN OFFICIAL SPORTS BETTING PROVIDER OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
The National Hockey League has also been busy–they’re in the midst of their 2020-2021 season for one thing. They’ve also just brokered a promotional deal with PointsBet that has them taking a minority stake in the Australian based bookmaker. That could have tons of implications for the future and it’s worth reading up on:
NHL TAKES EQUITY STAKE IN POINTSBET AS PART OF PROMOTIONAL DEAL
The deal is potentially game-changing, transformative and any other adjective you want to use. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of the possible scenarios so stay tuned for an in-depth analysis.
The Bally’s/NHL partnership deal was announced nine days after the PointsBet/Bally’s deal and is a ‘garden variety’ sponsorship deal with no equity stake involved. Here’s the blurb from the press release:
Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY), a leading U.S. provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, and the National Hockey League (NHL), today announced the formation of a multiyear strategic partnership designating Bally’s as an Official Sports Betting Partner of the NHL®. This deal represents Bally’s first sports betting partnership with a professional sports league.
The partnership provides Bally’s with rights to use NHL marks and logos as well as use of the League’s official data across its expanding portfolio of sports betting products. In addition, through its media partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Bally’s will create engaging content for NHL fans and integrate that content into live NHL game coverage spanning 19 regional sports networks.
George Papanier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally’s Corporation, is excited about entering into the first league-wide promotional deal in company history:
“We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with the NHL, which represents an important milestone in our strategy to become a leader in the online sports betting and iGaming space. With access to the NHL’s official logos and brands, together with our first-of-its-kind media partnership with Sinclair, we will continue on our path to transform how fans engage with their favorite hockey teams.”
Keith Wachtel, NHL Chief Business Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, weighed in on behalf of the league:
“We’re thrilled to become the first national sports league partner of Bally’s Corporation. With its Sinclair Broadcast Group partnership combined with a strong strategic vision for its portfolio of sports betting products, Bally’s is an ideal partner for the NHL to further engage our avid fan base on a national and local level.”
Bally’s might not get the run in the mainstream and financial media that companies like Penn National, DraftKings or FanDuel get but they’ve turned into a real smokin’ outfit in the past few months. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves for the rest of 2021.
At the time of publication, James Murphy has a long position in BALY.
