More than 20 legal online casino operators are already live and taking bets in New Jersey. As of Tuesday, February 1, the casino landscape in the Garden State grew by one more as Bally Casino officially went live.
The launch took place without much fanfare or any major news announcements. The arrival of NJ’s newest online casino was quietly made public via the Bally Bet — Bally’s sports betting platform — Twitter account and email notifications.
The New Jersey casino launch comes only a month and a half after Bally Bet went live and accepted its first sports wagers in Indiana — the most recent of four states in which the operator has launched thus far. However, that number is set to increase by at least two this year. The company is also eyeing an upcoming launch in New York, having been awarded an online sports betting license back in November.
In addition to the Empire State, Bally Bet was also one of five sportsbooks approved to launch in Tennessee last year, and is also expected to go live in 2022, although a specific date has not yet been released. The future Tennessee sportsbook launch has already received more fanfare than the New Jersey casino, as a multi-year partnership with NHL’s Nashville Predators was announced in October.
As far as the company’s inaugural foray in the iGaming market is concerned, it arrived suddenly and without any celebration whatsoever, a surprising move considering that Bally Casino NJ is Bally Corporation’s very first online casino platform in the regulated US markets.
So far, the dedicated @ballycasino Twitter account only features four tweets, three of which refer to the platform’s soft launch last December.
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At the time of its launch, the Bally Casino page features popular games such as slots, blackjack, roulette, and video poker. At the time of writing, the site was without any bonus offers or welcome promotions to entice new players to sign up.
In a brief statement sent to select media outlets the brand highlighted its advantages in entering the new market:
“Players can enjoy the thrill of playing land-based classics and top slot games such as Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin, Cleopatra, Secret of Phoenix, Tiki Island, Monopoly games, and more! In addition, players can win bonus spins with popular Daily Free Games such as Search for the Phoenix and Tiki’s Catch of the Day. Bally’s will continue to add games including Bingo with multiple chances to win and an exclusive Super Jackpot!”
Over the last few years, Bally’s Corporation has been busy expanding its presence in the regulated US gaming landscape. From 2004 until 2011, the company was known as BLB Investors before changing its name to Twin River Worldwide Holdings. In 2020, Rhode Island-based Twin River Worldwide Holdings purchased the Bally’s brand name from Caesars Entertainment and subsequently switched names once more.
In the same year, Bally Casino’s parent company also took over three Caesars and Eldorado Resorts properties in two separate transactions for $180 million in total. This included the Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City, among others. Their brick-and-mortar expansion was further boosted in 2021 as Bally’s struck an agreement with real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties to acquire the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for another $308 million.
- Welcome bonus
- Decent cash traffic
- Reliable software
The lack of aggressive marketing by the new online casino competitor may also be related to the takeover offer the company received in late January. Standard General — a hedge fund founded by the chairman of the board at Bally’s, Soohyung Kim — is currently the largest shareholder of Bally’s. The hedge fund submitted a $2.07 billion valuation for the remaining shares.
In order to finance the deal, Bally’s may be required to sell some or all of its real estate properties.
With potential privatization on the line in the months to come, the company has also delayed the launch of the Bally Bet sports betting platform in New York as well. The company was among the nine operators issued licenses by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSCG) but has yet to go live.
Six industry giants are already up and running in the Empire State with Bally Bet among the outstanding three market entries. The delayed launches in New York and Tennessee is on par with the company’s history, though. With the other four states in which the brand is currently accepting wagers — Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, and Virginia — Bally Bet was not part of their first wave of launches, either.
