Bally's acquires Bet.Works, creates Interactive division

Bally's Corporation announced Tuesday that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Bet.Works, a U.S. 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 comprised of marketing, operations, customer service, risk management and compliance. The total purchase price of the acquisition was $125 million, half of which was paid in Bally's common stock, which Bet.Works shareholders agreed to hold for at least one year.

With the closing of the transaction, Bally's will create two distinct 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. The latter will also include daily fantasy sports site Monkey Knife Fight, and SportCaller, a leading global B2B free-to-play game provider.

Bally's is now a full-service, vertically integrated sports betting and iGaming company in the U.S. with physical casinos, online gaming solutions and a B2B2C business model united under a single brand. 

Soo Kim, Chairman of Bally's Corporation's Board of Directors, said: "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. In just a few short years, we have transformed the company from a regional casino operator into the only U.S. gaming and entertainment company providing customers with an omni-channel experience that combines a national portfolio of best-in-class properties with unmatched digital capabilities. With Bet.Works' market-leading 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."

"We are pleased to formally welcome David and the entire Bet.Works team to the Bally's family," said George Papanier, President and CEO of Bally's Corporation. "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."

Bet.Works Founder and CEO, David Wang, will lead the integration of Bet.Works' experienced team of over 190 employees. Bally's Interactive plans to open a technology development center in Rhode Island by the end of the year, which will consist initially of 25 employees.

Wang stated: "On behalf of the entire Bet.Works team, we are excited to now be a part of Bally's interactive 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 iGaming portfolio with new technological innovations, including integrations with Bally Sports and enhancements to the recently launched Bally Bet sportsbook in Colorado."

Following the recently announced beta rollout of the Bally Bet sportsbook app in Colorado, Bally's intends to launch mobile sportsbooks in three additional markets in 2021, with subsequent launches to occur in 2022. The Bally Bet app is now available for download in Colorado on both iOS and Android, and is also accessible via desktop.