Bally Bet Goes Live in Iowa After Maiden Launch in Colorado

Bally Bet has gone live in Iowa sports betting, the second state for the Bally’s mobile sportsbook after its last month’s beta launch in Colorado.

Bally’s Interactive, a division of Bally’s Corporation, announced Tuesday its beta launch in the Hawkeye State via its market access deal with Elite Casino Resorts.

The company plans to launch its digital sports betting app into more legal states by the end of this year, according to a news release provided by Bally’s Interactive on June 29, 2021.

Bally’s Interactive operates the omnichannel provider’s sports betting, online gambling, and daily fantasy sports platforms.

Key Details

Bally’s has entered Iowa through a multi-year deal the Rhode Island gaming company struck with Elite Casino Resorts in Nov. 2020. This partnership would allow sports fans to have mobile betting through the casino’s premier gaming destinations in the state of Iowa.

 Elite Casino Resorts owns Grand Falls, Rhythm City, and Riverside casino and golf resorts. Bally Bet will serve as Elite Casino Resorts’ mobile skin.

Bally Bet has wagering options for all major sports, including in-app parlay games and integrated social features, the news release said. Consumers can also earn points through sports bets while playing on Bally Bet. They can redeem those points for gaming, dining, retail, and other amenities at the Bally’s casinos in the country via the Bally Rewards loyalty program.

The expansion also allows the entertainment company with additional exposure on Sinclair Broadcast Group’s local CBS and Fox tv affiliates in the Hawkeye State.

Iowa, Only State Where Bally’s Has No Casino

Adi Dhandania, Bally’s senior vice president for strategy and interactive said in the release that Iowa was an attractive market for the Bally Bet. Besides other reasons for excitement, one is that Iowa represents the only state where Bally’s does not maintain a land-based casino.

While hailing the state’s sports betting market that legalized in 2019, Dhandhania said, “We look forward to integrating Bally’s into Sinclair broadcast and online programming in Iowa, offering Iowa sports fans an engaging and creative sports wagering experience and continuing our work toward consolidating Bally’s as a top retail sportsbook brand with the third greatest reach in terms of US legalized market access.”

Like the Colorado launch in May, the Iowa beta launch of Bally Bet will focus on the deployment, testing, and refinement of the app. According to the release, Bally’s interactive will launch the app in two additional states in 2021, with more launches to follow in 2022.

How Have We Reached Here?

Bally’s has continued its expansionist strategy in the US gaming industry after Twin River rebranded itself as Bally’s last October. The company has been buying casinos and has rebranded 21 FOX Sports regional networks to Bally’s Sports.

On May 24, Bally’s Corp. announced the launch of the first beta launch of its mobile sportsbook in Colorado. Bally Bet’s app will originate in-house through Bet.Works, which the parent company purchased for $125 million last November. The acquisition provides the casino-entertainment company its own technology stack and turnkey solutions comprised of operations, marketing, customer service, risk management, and compliance.

Earlier this month, Bally’s forged a multiyear market deal with Dodge City-based Boot Hill Casino & Resorts that will have Bally Bet as its mobile skin as soon as online sports betting is available to Kansas.

In February, Bally’s inked a deal with National Hockey League (NHL), making the company an official sports betting partner of the league.