Bally’s Corporation on Tuesday said it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Bet.Works, a US-based sports betting platform provider to operators in New Jersey, Iowa, Indiana and Colorado.
The transaction includes Bet.Works’ proprietary technology stack and turnkey solutions, including marketing, operations, customer service, risk management and compliance.
The total purchase price of the acquisition was $125m, half of which was paid in Bally’s common stock, which Bet.Works shareholders agreed to hold for at least one year.
Bally’s said the acquisition makes it a vertically integrated sports betting and online gaming company, with physical casinos in the US, online gaming solutions and a B2B2C business model under a single brand.
With the close of the transaction, Bally’s will create two operating divisions: Bally’s Casinos, which will include the company’s physical gaming and entertainment properties, and Bally’s Interactive, which will be comprised of all of Bet.Works’ sports betting operations.
Bally’s Interactive also will include Monkey Knife Fight, a daily fantasy sports site serving North America, and SportCaller, a global B2B free-to-play game provider.
David Wang, founder and CEO of Bet.Works, will lead the integration of Bet.Works’ team of more than 190 employees. Bally’s Interactive said it plans to open a technology development center in Rhode Island by the end of the year, which initially will consist of 25 employees.
“Completing our acquisition of Bet.Works represents a significant milestone for Bally’s as we continue to embark on our long-term growth and diversification strategy,” said Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corporation’s board of directors, in a statement. “In just a few short years, we have transformed the company from a regional casino operator into the only US gaming and entertainment company providing customers with an omni-channel experience that combines a national portfolio of properties with digital capabilities. With Bet.Works’ technology underpinning our interactive platform, we are well positioned to capitalize on significant opportunities in what continues to be a rapidly expanding industry, and we are looking forward to launching additional interactive offerings later this year.”
George Papanier, president and CEO of Bally’s Corporation, added, “We are pleased to formally welcome David and the entire Bet.Works team to the Bally’s family. Since we announced the acquisition last year, a tremendous amount of work has gone into developing our online sports betting and interactive product suite, and we are extremely confident in the superior experience that our differentiated platform will provide to our more than 14 million active customers. We can't wait to provide sports fans across the country with new and innovative ways to engage with their favorite teams as we continue to bring additional assets online over the coming months.”
Wang said he and the entire Bet.Works team are excited to be a part of Bally’s Interactive’s gaming operations.
“Bally’s has experienced unprecedented growth over the past year, and we look forward to further advancing the company’s sports betting and online gaming portfolio with new technological innovations, including integrations with Bally Sports and enhancements to the recently launched Bally Bet sportsbook in Colorado,” Wang said.
Following the recently announced beta rollout of the Bally Bet sportsbook app in Colorado, Bally’s on Tuesday said it intends to launch mobile sportsbooks in three additional markets in 2021, with subsequent launches to occur in 2022. The Bally Bet app is available for download in Colorado on both iOS and Android, and also is accessible via desktop.
