Bally’s US Mobile Sportsbook Blitz Broadens With Bally Bet Beta Launch in Iowa

  • The operator initially inked a market access partnership in 2021 via Iowa’s Elite Casino Resorts
  • A senior executive of the company said the state represented “an attractive market for Bally Bet”
  • Bally’s is relishing its chance to integrate content into Sinclair’s Iowa TV networks
  • Bally Bet is set to launch in two additional US markets in 2021, with more to come in 2022
baseball with Iowa flag lies on grass pitch near bat
Bally’s now has a mobile sportsbook presence in two US states following the beta launch of Bally Bet in Iowa on June 29. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Mobile offering now live in two states

Just over one week and one month respectively after expanding its mobile sportsbook presence into neighbor states Kansas and Colorado, Bally’s Interactive, a division of Bally’s Corporation, has done it again in Iowa.

Bally Bet, which is operated by Bally’s Interactive, took to Twitter on June 29 to announce the beta launch of its mobile sportsbook in Iowa:

According to a June 29 news release, Bally’s keeps its mobile sports betting skin in Iowa via Elite Casino Resorts, which the brand initially tied up with through a market access partnership in November 2020.

While Bally’s deal with Kansas’s Boot Hill Casino & Resort gave the casino the keys to its mobile sportsbook, the facility can only roll out digital betting when Kansas approves regulated sports wagering.

The Rhode Island-based company’s mobile sportsbook is already live in Colorado. Now that Bally Bet is available via a beta platform in Iowa, it means Bally’s mobile sportsbook has secured a live presence in its second US state.

Early adopter Iowa attractive to Bally’s

Bally’s Corporation’s senior vice president of strategy and interactive, Adi Dhandhania, said that as a state that “embraced” regulated sports wagering since 2019, Iowa represented “an attractive market for Bally Bet.”

a state that “embraced” regulated sports wagering since 2019

In the official release, Dhandhania referred to a recently oft-repeated Bally’s mantra. The senior executive said the operator looked forward to “integrating Bally’s into Sinclair’s broadcast and digital programming in Iowa.”

After its June 21 breakthrough in Kansas, Bally’s said in a news release that it believed the partnership with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which includes 19 regional sports networks, will “attract sports fans in neighboring states to the Kansas mobile sportsbook.”

As in Kansas, so in Iowa. Dhandhania added that the Bally Bet incursion into Iowa will give sports fans in the state “an engaging and creative sports betting experience.” More ominously for its competitors, Dhandhania concluded that Iowa was another step in positioning Bally’s as a “leading retail sportsbook brand with the third greatest reach in terms of U.S. legalized market access.”

Iowa also a testing ground

As it did with its Colorado debut in late May, Bally’s has launched its mobile sports wagering app in Iowa as a beta version. This gives the operator elbow room to test and tweak the Bally Bet platform and content. In both Iowa and Colorado, the Bally Bet app is now available via laptop platforms, as well as for download via iOS and Android devices.

Additionally, Bally’s said it intends to unveil Bally Bet in two more markets in 2021, with more launches scheduled for next year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *