ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Bally’s Corp. has purchased a sports betting technology company for $125 million and has finished the purchase of a casino in Atlantic City.
The transactions, both announced Wednesday night, give the Rhode Island company formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings a solid place in the sports betting and physical casino markets as it rapidly expands across the U.S.
Bally’s bought Bet.Works, a sports betting platform provider to operators in New Jersey, Iowa, Indiana and Colorado.
“This is the next step in our company’s evolution,” said Soo Kim, chairman of the company’s board of directors. “By combining our expanding national footprint of casinos, the recently acquired Bally’s brand, and Bet.Works’ proprietary technology stack, we have evolved in just a few short years from a regional casino operator into the first U.S. gaming company committed to serving our customers with an omni-channel approach, combining the best of our physical properties with a superior online experience.”
During the past two years, Bally’s has been on a buying spree with the goal of transforming from a small regional casino company to a national player in the gambling industry. It will have 14 casinos in 10 states once all pending transactions are completed.
The company also recently bought the Bally’s brand and renamed itself.
It completed the purchase of Bally’s casino in Atlantic City from Caesars Entertainment and a related entity, VICI Properties, for $25 million.
In a research note issued shortly before the latest transactions were announced, the Macquarie Group said sports betting and internet gambling will be key strengths for Bally’s.
“A two-property company less than 5 years ago, the $900 million market cap Bally’s Corp. has completely transformed the portfolio to 14 assets through $950 million of spending in the last two years,” the firm wrote. “We believe online gaming is the hidden treasure of the company.”
Bally’s plans to split itself into two divisions: “Bally’s Casinos,” comprising physical gambling and entertainment properties, and “Bally’s Interactive,” which will include new and existing contracts for sports betting and internet gambling, including all of Bet.Works’ sports betting operations.
The Bet.Works purchase should close in the first quarter of 2021.