Bally’s Corporation has announced its third high-profile acquisition in the last four months.
Bally’s Corporation, the company formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings, has announced a deal to acquire the free-to-play games provider SportCaller.
This deal marks Bally’s third high-profile acquisition of the past four months.
The deal
The deal will see Bally’s acquire SportCaller which supplies trivia, predictions, pay-to-play and custom free-to-play content to a range of media businesses and sportsbook operators around the globe.
Bally’s did not disclose the terms of the deal with SportCaller.
Once the acquisition is complete, SportCaller will make up part of Bally’s interactive division, which was formed after the casino operator acquired Bet.Works in November last year.
Bally’s now plans to launch its own suite of free-to-play games later this year, which will be supported by Bet.Works’ technology stack. The operator also explained that it will use its partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group to grow its payer database in states where sports betting has yet to be legalised.
In US states where sports betting is legal, SportCaller’s expertise in free-to-play games will be used to help drive player engagement and customer retention.
George Papanier, Bally’s President and Chief Executive Officer said: “I am delighted to welcome SportCaller to Bally’s Interactive alongside Bet.Works and Monkey Knife Fight. F2P products represent a core component of our interactive strategy to drive user acquisition to Bally’s ecosystem. SportCaller offers unique products and I am confident that its pioneering platform and deep international expertise will significantly contribute to our growing interactive platforms.”
Cillian Barry, Founder and MD at SportCaller said: “Joining Bally’s is a milestone moment for the SportCaller team.I look forward to working with Bally’s talented team as we continue to create an innovative F2P product that engages sports fans on a global scale.”
Jones Day served as legal advisor to Bally’s Corporation while Maples Group served as legal advisor to SportCaller and its shareholders. Oakvale Capital served as financial advisor to SportCaller.
Another acquisition for Bally’s
This acquisition marks the US casino operators latest move to expand its presence in the US gambling space.
In October 2020, Twin River acquired the Bally’s brand from Caesars Entertainment and went on to rebrand its business as Bally’s Corporation. This came after the casino operator purchased Bally’s casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey from Caesars and real estate investment trust, Vici Properties, for $25m back in April 2020.
In November 2020, Bally’s agreed a $125m deal to acquire Bet.Works last year. With the deal to acquire Bet.Works, Bally’s took ownership of Bet.Works’ proprietary technology stack and turnkey solutions, as well as marketing, customer service, risk management, operations and compliance tools.
In January 2021, Bally’s announced a deal to acquire the daily fantasy sports provider Monkey Knife Fight, which marked its second high-profile acquisition. The deal will see the land-based casino operator acquire the DFS provider for up to $90m in stock and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
