Land-based operator Bally’s saw revenue grow 170.0% to $314.8m (£232.2m/€272.5m) in Q3 of 2021, the last quarter before its acquisition of UK-based igaming operator Gamesys closed.
Gaming made up the vast majority of Bally’s revenue, at $227.6m, a 135.6% year-on-year increase. Hotel revenue was up 383.35 to $32.9m, while food and beverage revenue grew 327.5% to $29.5m. Racing, meanwhile, brought in 42.0m, up 20.0%.
Other revenue grew almost five-fold to $22.8m.
However, Bally’s expenses tripled to $287.0m. Costs of sales related to gaming made up $75.2m and food and beverage costs of sales were $21.4m, while costs of sales from hotels were $9.4m and those from racing were $2.0m. All of these costs grew roughly in line with revenue in the given areas.
Advertising, general and administrative costs made up a further $142.9m of Bally’s expenses, up 227.3%.
In addition, the business incurred $6.8m in acquisition, integration and restructuring costs and $27.0m in depreciation and amortisation costs, but it also made a $7.9m gain from insurance recoveries.
As a result, its operating profit was $27.7m, up 18.4%.
Non-operating expenses almost tripled, coming to $47.9m. Most of this total came from interest expenses, which doubled to $31.9m, with extinguishment of debt making up much of the remainder.
As a result, Bally’s was left with a pre-tax loss of $20.1m, after recording a pre-tax profit of $6.5m in Q3 of 2020.
The operator did receive a $5.4m income tax benefit, however, meaning its net loss was $14.7m. The previous year, Bally’s had made a net profit of $6.7m in Q3.
Lee Fenton – who became Bally’s new chief executive when its £2.0bn acquisition of Gamesys closed on 1 October – said the deal marked Bally’s transformation into more than a regional casino operator.
“On October 1, 2021, Bally’s completed its transformational acquisition of Gamesys Group – a strategic combination that further advances Bally’s global, data-driven, omni-channel strategy,” he said. “As a result, our business is evolving from a regional casino operator into an industry leader in retail, sports, media and igaming, which will see us harness a set of assets that provides a formidable platform for growth as a digital-first leader in global gaming entertainment.”
George Papanier, chief executive of Bally’s during the quarter, remains on the board of the combined company, and now occupies a new role running Bally’s estate of land-based casinos.
The Gamesys acquisition was just the latest in a string of high profile M&A activity from Bally’s. This also included a deal to acquire daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator Monkey Knife Fight, which closed just before the Gamesys deal was announced, and the acquisition of sports betting platform supplier Bet.Works, which powers its BallyBetonline sportsbook brand.
