Deal to Acquire Bally’s Atlantic City Casino is Complete

Bally's Corp. has completed the previously announced acquisition of Bally's Atlantic City Hotel & Casino from Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Vici Properties.

The total purchase price was $25 million, subject to customary adjustments, and was funded with cash on hand, according to a news release. Gambling regulators in New Jersey on Nov. 6 approved Twin River — now Bally’s — to operate Bally’s Atlantic City.

As part of the transaction, Bally's also receives three sports betting and five iGaming skins in New Jersey, according to a news release. Bally’s had previously entered into strategic partnerships with Esports Entertainment Group and Sporttrade Inc. for sports betting skins, and PointsBet and theScore for iGaming skins.

“We strongly believe in the potential of the Atlantic City market and are confident that we can restore Bally's to its former glory,” George Papanier, president and chief executive officer of Bally's Corp., said in the news release after Wednesday trading closed. “We are pleased to close on this transaction, which represents the latest addition in our ongoing portfolio diversification strategy, and look forward to implementing our capital improvement plans to completely renovate the property with first-in-class amenities and offerings.

”We have a proven track record of implementing strategic initiatives at acquired properties in order to drive growth and revenue improvements, and plan to bring the iconic property to a level not seen in years.”

Also Wednesday after trading closed, Bally’s announced it was buying sports-betting platform Bet.Works for $125 million and that it had agreed to purchase the naming rights of Sinclair Broadcasting’s regional sports networks. It will be able to integrate sports-betting content into broadcasts.

FanDuel Sportsbook at Bally’s

In addition, Bally’s also has an agreement with FanDuel to host a sportsbook inside Bally's Atlantic City, which will debut shortly with a temporary sportsbook to open by the end of the year. A new brick-and-mortar sportsbook should be ready by spring 2021.

The casino company has committed to spending at least $90 million in upgrades over the next five years at the Boardwalk’s 41-year-old property on the city’s famed Pacific Avenue, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

The iconic Bally's brand was previously owned by Caesars Entertainment and was sold to Twin River Worldwide Holdings in October. As part of the deal, Twin River could rebrand its casinos and the casino operator based in Rhode Island changed its name to Bally’s Corp. on Nov. 9. It also began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under its new ticker symbol — BALY.

Bally's Atlantic City includes 1,500 slots, 105 tables and 1,251 hotel rooms.

New Jersey set a new national record of $803.1 million in total sports betting handle in October, breaking its previous state and national total handle record of $748.6 million set in September.