- Bally’s is now an authorized sports betting operator of the NBA.
- 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.
Of all of the US based gaming corporations angling for market share in the sports betting boom it could turn out that Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY) has done a better job positioning itself for growth in this segment than anyone. Bally’s is the company formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings. They 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.
Since then, they’ve set themselves up to be a ‘one stop shop’ sports betting provider. Their first purchase was highly regarded sportsbook technology solutions company Bet.Works. Since then they’ve added DFS platform Moneky Knife Fight and free to play platform SportsCaller. Earlier today, it was reported that they’ve submitted a buyout proposal to Allied Esports Entertainment. Most important of all–they really give off the vibe that the understand the opportunities and the challenges present in the nascent US sports betting market. There were a number of interesting items that came out of their Q4 earnings call held early today and we’ll touch on these in a separate article.
In late February, Bally’s signed on as an Official Sports Betting Partner of the National Hockey League (NHL). Today, they announced that they’ve become an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the NBA. Here’s the 4-1-1 from the press release announcing the deal:
Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY), a leading U.S. provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, today announced the formation of a multiyear strategic partnership designating Bally’s as an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the National Basketball Association (NBA). This deal represents Bally’s second sports betting partnership with a professional sports league, following its previously announced official sports betting partnership with the National Hockey League.
The partnership will provide Bally’s with access to official league data, as well as rights to use official NBA marks and logos across the Company’s expanding portfolio of online sports betting products.
George Papanier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally’s Corporation, had this quote about the new relationship with the NBA:
“Partnering with the NBA is an exceptional opportunity for Bally’s, adding to our ongoing momentum with professional sports leagues. Together with the NBA, we will unlock significant opportunities to provide a greater population of NBA fans with new, creative and engaging sports betting products and services.”
Here’s something interesting–take a look at the ‘About Bally’s Corporation’ section of the press release:
Bally’s Corporation currently owns and manages 11 casinos across seven states, a horse racetrack and 13 authorized OTB licenses in Colorado. With more than 5,900 employees, the Company’s operations include 13,260 slot machines, 459 game tables and 2,941 hotel rooms. Following the completion of pending acquisitions, which include Tropicana Evansville (Evansville, IN), Jumer’s Casino & Hotel (Rock Island, IL), and MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa (Lake Tahoe, NV), as well as the construction of a land-based casino near the Nittany Mall in State College, PA, Bally’s will own and manage 15 casinos across 11 states. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BALY.”
That’s a nice footprint of retail land based casinos but my hunch is that their recent acquisitions were done to position them to be a player in the online sports betting marketplace. Stay tuned.
At the time of publication, James Murphy has a long position in BALY.
