Bally’s Acquires the Association of Volleyball Professionals

Bally’s Corporation on Thursday acquired the Association of Volleyball Professionals, the biggest professional beach volleyball tour in the United States.

The acquisition represents the Rhode Island-based gaming company’s latest step to gamify and incorporate interactive content into beach volleyball. Bally’s aims to pull traffic to its platforms and promote customer acquisition.

Bally’s acquisition is also the latest move for a gaming entity seeking a greater share in the ever-expanding online sports betting in the US.

The gaming and betting company currently owns and manages as many as 14 casinos across 10 states, mobile sportsbook licenses in 14 states, and a horse racetrack in Colorado.

Key Details of the Deal

Under the terms of the deal, Bally’s purchased all of AVP’s assets, including trademarks, AVP America promoter agreements, and associated recurring membership revenue, as well as digital photo and video assets. Additionally, the company also acquired all proprietary tournament and league management software.

The gaming and betting company plans to leverage AVP’s distribution channels, and the Sinclair-owned “Bally Sports” Regional Sports Networks to enhance consumer agreements with, and awareness of, the league, the news release said.

Donald Sun, the former owner and CEO of AVP, looked forward to being an integral part of the transition, focusing on the best interests of the AVP athletes, fans, staff, and partners. “Forming a new relationship with a trusted partner like Bally’s provides us the opportunity to develop a strategic roadmap that will grow and expand the sport while offering new resources to better elevate the game and the athletes.”

What Do We Know About AVP?

Founded in 1983, the AVP is the top beach volleyball tour in the nation. In 1996, beach volleyball became an official sport of the Olympic Games, and the AVP serves as the home court for Team USA’s Olympians.

The association declared bankruptcy in 2010, two years before it was bought by Donald Sun in 2012 with a view to capitalize on US Olympic success.

In 2020, the AVP planned eight events but had to shut down amid the peak of the pandemic before returning this year with a three-event season with the Atlanta Open on Aug. 13-15. The tour plans to resume the full season in 2022.

Adi Dhandhania, SVP Strategy, and Interactive, said, “The AVP is an attractive asset, complementing Bally’s rapidly expanding US sports betting vision,” adding that Donald and the entire AVP team had done a great job developing the league and transforming it into what it is today.

What Do We Know About Bally’s?

Besides casinos, Bally’s owns Bet.Works, a sports betting platform following an agreement reached last November with the sports betting platform provider for $125 million.

Bally’s also owns Monkey Knife Fight, the third-largest daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator in North America. Bally’s also becomes the third US sports betting company with a DFS component after FanDuel and DraftKings.

Additionally, Bally’s owns SportCaller, one of the top B2B free-to-play game providers for sportsbook and media entities across the world.