Bally's Builds Betting Brand By Bringing on MLB

Bally's Corporation has been on quite a roll lately in their quest to become an elite sports betting provider in the bustling US legal wagering scene. Their latest coup is a multi-year agreement that makes them an Authorized Gaming Operator of Major League Baseball (MLB), their third such league partnership deal.

George Papanier, President and CEO of Bally’s Corporation, commented: “The agreement between Bally’s and MLB offers exciting benefits for baseball fans nationwide. We are honored to have the opportunity to put the Bally’s stamp on America’s national pastime and look forward to providing an innovative and engaging sports betting experience. We can’t wait for the season to begin.”

Bally's hasn't been shy about doing all they can to become a sports betting Heavyweight the last six or so months. During that span, they have signed partnership deals with the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), they have announced a $125 million acquisition of sports betting platform supplier Bet.Works, an $85 million, 10-year agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to rebrand all 21 of their Fox Regional Sports Networks to Bally’s Sports and the purchase of the third-largest US daily fantasy company, Monkey Knife Fight.

The MLB Deal

Sports betting partnerships between North America’s top pro leagues and betting providers have become standard over the last 12 months. Most of them follow a similar blueprint and the MLB/Bally's merger is no different.

Bally’s gets immediate access to official MLB league and team marks, logos and data, which it intends to incorporate across its growing portfolio of sports betting products, according to a news release. As with other similar deals, the two will work to protect the integrity of the game through what they describe as “best-in-class practices”.

Bally's intends to create new wagering-focused and innovative content aimed at MLB fans while integrating all of the newly acquired MLB assets into broadcasts across 19 regional sports networks that came along with their Sinclair Broadcasting deal consummated late last year.

The Sinclair/Bally’s partnership and the 19 regional networks involved cover more than half of the MLB teams across the US and will be rebranded under the Bally’s name at the end of this month. MLB will also benefit from the weight of Bally’s 11 casinos across seven states, a horse racetrack and 13 authorized OTB licenses in Colorado.

Baseball and the Building up of Bally's

Bally's MLB pursuit will allow the betting brand to stay relevant year-round thanks to the MLB season that runs from April to October. Regional Sports Networks will be ready to broadcast the games and take the Baseball viewing experience to a different level while at the same time support the Bally's betting brand. Simply put, the Bally's/MLB partnership seems like a home run for both sides.

“As we prepare for the start of the 2021 season, working with Bally’s will present our fans with yet another unique avenue to engage with baseball,” said Kenny Gersh, executive vice president, business development, MLB.

“Bally’s knows how to provide added entertainment for sports fans across the country, so we look forward to collaborating on new ways of engaging fans around our games.”

What We Can Look Forward To

Opening day for the full Major League Baseball year begins April 1. 15 games will take place on that day and Bally's has made sure that they are a part of what should be a robust betting season.

For baseball fans, the integration of sports betting into their overall viewing experience continues with Bally’s now-elite brand a part of that evolution. For Bally’s, their latest partnership deal with MLB is just another step in an aggressive plan toward what they obviously hope is sports betting provider dominance.