Bally’s CEO Shares Sports Betting Strategy

Fresh off its acquisition of U.K. online gaming operator Gamesys, Bally’s is looking to build a comprehensive gaming platform that incorporates sports betting, fantasy sports, and iGaming.

“If you look at where we put our chips,” Bally’s CEO Lee Fenton told CNBC, “it’s on those media partnerships, it’s on the investment in our technology, and I think we’ll approach customer acquisition in a very different way, really driving omnichannel.”

Bally’s acquired Gamesys last week for $2.7 billion. That represented a 13% premium on its stock price as of Oct. 5, which Bally’s chairman Soo Kim called “a very reasonable multiple.”

Bally’s has expanded through several other acquisitions over the last year.

• In June, it completed its $125 million acquisition of sports betting technology provider Bet.Works.
• In March, it completed its deal to buy fantasy sports platform Monkey Knife Fight for up to $90 million in stock.
• The previous month, Bally’s agreed to buy free-to-play sports betting game maker SportCaller for $27.5 million.
• The company made a major push into sports media in Nov. 2020 when it acquired naming rights to Sinclair’s 21 regional sports networks for $85 million in a 10-year deal, replacing previous name holder Fox Sports.

“We have a different approach to getting into this game, and it’s not spending $200 million dollars a quarter on above-the-line advertising,” said Fenton.