Bally’s mobile sports betting platform, Bally Bet, will be entering three new jurisdictions by this summer, the company announced on its fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday.
“We are planning to launch in Arizona and New York during the first quarter of this year, with Ontario, Canada, set to go live with iGaming sometime this summer,” Lee Fenton, Bally’s chief executive officer, said during his opening remarks on the call.
In late January, Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim had said the plan was to launch in New York by April.
Bally Bet quietly launched this week in Arizona. The Bally Bet website said the Android app is available for download, but the Apple app nor website has yet to launch. Hard Rock Sportsbook and Betway also joined the market this week without much fanfare.
More mobile state launches, including on property sportsbooks, are expected later in the year.
A Look at the Key Numbers
Overall, Bally’s reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $115.3 million, after reporting a profit in the same period last year. However, revenue posted at $547.7 million, which was an increase of $429.6 million. Its adjusted EBITDA of $119.4 million was an increase of $98.4 million year over year.
“Our quarterly results represent the first full quarter of the consolidated Bally’s group including our Casinos & Resorts, International Interactive and North America Interactive segments,” Fenton said in a news release. “During the quarter, we made significant progress on integration of our acquired assets, defining our strategic goals for 2022 and deploying capital strategically, including progress in growth projects in Lincoln, Atlantic City and Kansas City. Additionally, we repurchased $87 million of our common shares during the quarter.”
Growing the Bally’s Brand
Bally’s currently has 14 casinos across 10 states, a racetrack in Colorado (Arapahoe Park in Aurora), as well as off-site betting licenses in 15 states. Bally Interactive operates the company’s online offerings, including its Bally Bet sports betting brand, a fantasy sports site and a free-to-play, business-to-business game provider.
On Jan. 31, Bally’s Atlantic City launched www.ballycasino.com, which can be played on desktop or mobile sports app anywhere in New Jersey.
Last year, Bally’s also bought Gamesys Group, an online gaming company based in England, for $2.7 billion.
Key Launches for Bally Bet
Going live in the mobile New York sports betting market has been big for sportsbook operators. Nine sportsbooks are approved in New York, including Bally Bet.
Seven have launched — Caesars New York, DraftKings NY, FanDuel New York, BetMGM NY, PointsBet New York, BetRivers NY and WynnBET New York. In addition to Bally Bet, Resorts World is waiting to launch in the state. In January (Jan. 8-31), New York had a record $1.69 billion sports betting handle.
Arizona also has been one of the top sports betting markets in the U.S. Its most-recent month for its sports betting figures was November and Arizona saw $466.7 million in handle. December and January numbers have yet to be released.
Bally Bet is partnered with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in Arizona. The competitive Ontario sports betting market is expected to launch on April 4. It has a population that would make it the fifth-largest state in the U.S., so expectations are high for sports betting and online casinos.
