Bally’s is teaming up with B2B tech provider Kambi in a bid to revive its US sports betting app and iGaming presence after botched attempts that cost over $3bn in acquisitions. Bally’s plans to relaunch BallyBet in seven states “using the same platform as BetRivers.”
Under a standalone deal with White Hat Gaming, BallyBet will also have access to a range of “game aggregation, payment processing, and player management features.”
end of Bally’s high-priced quest for its own in-house sports betting product
The move marks the end of Bally’s high-priced quest for its own in-house sports betting product and comes under new CEO Robeson Reeves, who replaced Lee Fenton in March after the latter resigned over the Long Island-based firm’s sports betting performance.
In February, Bally’s announced it was shuttering and selling Monkey Knife Fight and Bet.Works, both acquired for over $215m, after they failed to meet anticipated performance levels. This led to a $390m non-cash impairment, according to a Q4 2022 investor presentation, a classic case of paying more for assets than they are worth.
While Bally’s is preparing to lose up to $50m this year from its North American business, Reeves is optimistic about the Kambi and White Hat deals, stating that Bally’s will be “optimally positioned to achieve significant scale and capture substantial market share in the global gaming market.”
Following the news this week, Bally’s shares rose to $17.55 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Kambi climbed to 187.40 Swedish Krona ($18.19) on the Nasdaq Stockholm, a weekly high, according to Legal Sports Report.