Some online sports betting operators have opted to cease their services in New Jersey in recent months. However, one company that has been notably absent from the Garden State’s market is preparing to make its entrance in the coming months.
Bally’s Corp. Plans Expansion
During its latest earnings call, Bally’s Corp. revealed plans to launch its online sportsbook in four states, including New Jersey, before the year concludes. Bally’s CEO, Robeson Reeves, highlighted the company’s successful rollout of the Bally Bet platform across various markets, which has resulted in improved volumes and profitability. He noted:
“Furthermore, with the ongoing successful rollouts of Bally Bet across our markets, we’re generating improved volumes and profitability, particularly as the transition onto Kambi and White Hat platforms has garnered positive customer feedback and helped us differentiate our offerings. We expect to launch sports in an additional four states in the second half of the year and continue to plant the seeds for expanded iGaming across our geographies.”
Anticipating a Strong Online Sports Betting Launch
As Reeves mentioned, Bally’s has seen a surge in online casino gaming, particularly through Bally’s Online Casino NJ, largely due to its monopoly in Rhode Island. The company has also recently launched online sports betting in Massachusetts, aligning with its strategy to enhance its sports betting product and promote cross-selling with Bally’s iGaming offerings.
Once Bally Bet Sportsbook NJ is live, the company is expected to leverage its existing customer base to drive additional revenue. Reeves stated, “In both Ontario and New Jersey, we’ll introduce [online sports betting], which will aid us from an acquisition perspective to help generate extra revenue. More importantly, it simplifies our operations, allowing us to use a single back office tool, creating a more efficient environment for our teams and enabling scalable growth in a cost-effective manner.”
A Potential Resurgence Following the Buyout
Recently, Bally’s announced that it had accepted a buyout offer from Standard General, a hedge fund associated with Bally’s chairman, Soo Kim. Reeves indicated that this move could pave the way for additional revenue streams but did not elaborate on its implications for New Jersey.
Bally’s President George Papanier acknowledged challenges faced in Atlantic City, attributing difficulties to turnover within the relationship marketing team. “Atlantic City had a somewhat difficult quarter as we were impacted by turnover in our relationship marketing team,” he remarked. “We are working aggressively to reestablish ourselves with those players and have introduced a new relationship team to drive incremental and new customer visitation. Unfortunately, the timing of this was particularly impactful as it coincided with Atlantic City’s peak season.”
Bally’s Chief Financial Officer, Marcus Glover, also emphasized ongoing efforts to redefine VIP relationships, mentioning, “We lost some key folks on that team and are repositioning the property a little bit and revitalizing those relationships.” With these initiatives, Bally’s aims to bounce back and solidify its presence in the competitive New Jersey market.
Source : https://www.playnj.com/news/ballys-execs-target-new-jersey-launch-bally-bet-sportsbook-end-of-2024/82215/