Customers in New York, Colorado, Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as Ontario, received correspondence from Bally’s to withdraw any funds from their accounts. Those that did not “will receive a physical check that reflects the remaining balance in your account at the time of deactivation,” according to Bally’s. “We will mail this check to the address listed on your account.”
“Over the next few months, we will be working hard to elevate your betting experience. We are grateful for your loyalty, and look forward to unveiling our enhanced online sportsbook upon our return later this year. Rest assured, we will be back after a short intermission break to deliver a thrilling experience only Bally’s can provide.”
But Arizona is the exception, as the one state where Bally Bet has proven competitive with rival sportsbooks in AZ.
Bally Bet Arizona has a partnership with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
Arizona regulators are notoriously slow in reporting revenue figures, with the results for April finally showing up on June 29 – about six weeks behind the majority of state reporting.
Those figures show that Bally’s took in just under $21,000 in revenue in that month – just a drop in the bucket compared to the combined $26.8 million received by giants FanDuel and DraftKings.
But Bally’s ranked 9th out of 13 operators in the state, and only four rivals took in $1 million or more in April. Apparently, Bally’s believes it has a chance to make inroads in the state, as opposed to its other locations. Massachusetts and Ohio, as relative newcomer states to sports betting, also are on Bally’s radar.
Kambi to the Rescue?
In May, Bally’s announced that it is merging with Kambi Group, an online sports betting platform utilized by industry giants such as DraftKings, Barstool, and BetRivers.
“We are pleased to enter into this long-term partnership with Bally’s to enable the enhancement and expansion of its online and retail sports betting platform and services,” Kambi CEO and co-founder Kristian Nylen said in a statement.
“Kambi is the proven global leader in sportsbooks, and I believe this powerful collaboration with Bally’s will deliver its customers the next-generation betting entertainment they demand.”
The decision by Bally’s could not have been an easy one to make, as in most states, the company has lost all of its customers for now. Inevitably, some of their previous customers will not bother to sign up for a second time when so many other apps are available in each state.
But on Bally’s first-quarter earnings call in May, CEO Robeson Reeves noted that “The North American infrastructure we had in place for sports was inefficient. I own that. And with these new partnerships in place, our cash burn and development costs will go down sharply, as spend will be performance-driven.”
Reeves reported that Bally’s North American interactive division is expected to lose $40 million to $50 million in 2023.
Bally’s spent an estimated $3 billion to build its own sportsbook platform via its partnership with BetWorks.
A $90 million purchase of a small daily fantasy sports site called MonkeyKnifeFight also failed, and the site is now shut.
“Simply put, our North America Interactive results in 2022 were unacceptable,” Reeves said earlier this year, as the company laid off 15% of its workforce. “In response, through our announced restructuring plan of the Interactive business in January, we are taking a deep dive in our approach to North America to ensure that investments we make in sports have a near-term path to profitability.”
“A 4% market share of the robust New Jersey online casino gaming market already has been worth more than $1 million in net profit, and Bally’s seeks to grow that share to between 6% and 8% in the coming year,” Reeves said.
Bally’s also has just launched online casino play in Pennsylvania, which along with Ontario, should provide similar profit numbers in that underrated sector.
Arizona sports betting has been legal for almost two full years, which has led to just over $10 billion in wagers and nearly $50 million in state tax revenue.
