Bally Bet Set for Relaunch in Indiana

Rhode Island-based sportsbook Bally Bet gained clearance by the Indiana Gaming Commission to relaunch its sports betting brand in the Hoosier State. Bally Bet had paused its Indiana offering this past summer in order to transition from an old technology suite to one supported by highly respected sports wagering tech providers, Kambi Group and White Hat Gaming.

According to a press release from the Indiana Gaming Commission on Friday, "Bally Bet has substantially demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Commission that its mobile sports wagering operation meets the requirements of IC article 4-38 and the Commission’s Regulations related to sports wagering activities."

After fulfilling the necessary requirements, Bally Bet Indiana could go live again in Indiana as early as Friday. Having missed half of the bread-and-butter NFL season, the Indiana relaunch announcement couldn't have come at a better time.

The announcement of its Indiana relaunch, however, comes on the heels of some disappointing revenue numbers from the third quarter of Bally Corp’s fiscal year.

A little history of Bally Bet in Indiana

Indiana sports betting has been strong since its inception, but Bally Bet has struggled to gain much of a market share in the states it had a presence, including Indiana.

The press release that came out Friday acknowledges that,  "On Sept. 28, 2021, Bally’s Interactive, Bally Bet received a temporary vendor license... Subsequently, on June 15, 2023, Bally Bet was issued a permanent vendor license...this vendor license allows Bally Bet to conduct mobile sports wagering activities under the Certificate of Authority issued to Aztar Indiana Gaming Company. Bally Bet initially received a launch authorization to conduct sports wagering activities on Dec. 9, 2021."

Hopes are for the company that its relaunch, assisted by Kambi technology, will make the sports betting provider more competitive in Indiana. It is also expected that an improved product will help it be more competitive in the other markets that temporarily paused its betting brand for months.

Indiana the first of three states to relaunch

Bally Bet temporarily pulled out of three key betting markets over the summer during their transition to Kambi technology. With Indiana out of the way, the company can now focus on Iowa sports betting and New York sports betting to relaunch. Bally's CEO mentioned during his Q3 earnings call that the company is targeting the end of the year to be live in all of its previous wagering states.

Bally Bet was able to maintain its presence in Arizona sports betting, Colorado sports betting, Ohio sports betting, and Virginia sports betting, all states that saw the wagering provider already switch to a third-party technology provider. Again, Bally Bet’s market share in those jurisdictions has been slightly disappointing.

Indiana will be a good test for the brand, with Iowa and New York relaunches on the horizon.

Earnings numbers for Q3

Quarter 3 for Bally Bet wasn't a great one. Pausing its offerings in three key states didn't help. Bally’s Corp. is reporting, however, $632.5 million in revenue for Q3, which is a 9.4% year-over-year improvement from the same period last year. The interactive side of the business made $29.5 million in revenue in Q3, a year-over-year increase from $22.1 million in Q3 2022.

Bally's, the parent company of Bally Bet posted a total net loss of $61.8 million in Q3, although the Bally Bet brand actually outperformed expectations. Q3 of 2022 saw the company with a net positive income of $593 million.

Targeted adjusted EBITDAR for Bally’s now stands at between $640 million and $655 million for the full year, which is down from the original $655 million to $700 million projection. Revenue guidance for Q4 also dropped by 7% on the heels of the underwhelming Q3 figures.