Bally's steps up major league presence with NBA tie-up

Bally’s Corporation, the US betting and gambling powerhouse, has teamed up with another top North American league in the shape of basketball’s NBA.
As an authorised sports betting operator of the league, Bally’s will have access to official league data and rights to official NBA marks and logos to utilise across its growing online sports betting portfolio, as part of a multi-year agreement.
In addition, the two organisations have pledged to collaborate on “best-in-class practices” to ensure the integrity of NBA games.
The NBA becomes the second major league to partner with Bally’s, following ice hockey’s NHL, which signed a multi-year deal just last month.
However, the corporation is already highly active in the sports sphere as it looks to capitalise on the increasingly liberalised US betting market, having made several acquisitions in the sector and agreed a naming rights sponsorship deal for the regional sports networks of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
In a statement, George Papanier, the president and chief executive of Bally’s, said: “Partnering with the NBA is an exceptional opportunity for Bally's, adding to our ongoing momentum with professional sports leagues. Together with the NBA, we will unlock significant opportunities to provide a greater population of NBA fans with new, creative and engaging sports betting products and services."
There will be synergies with 19 Sinclair RSNs given that they provide coverage of more than half of the USA-based NBA teams, according to Bally's
The naming rights deal, which was concluded last November, is reported to be worth $85 million over 10 years, and Sinclair has taken a 15 per cent stake in Bally’s, with the right to raise this by another 15 per cent if certain financial targets are met.
Bally’s, which is based in Providence, Rhode Island, owns and manages 11 casinos across seven states, set to rise to 15 in 11, plus a horse racetrack and 13 authorised off-track betting licences in Colorado.
The company has recently diversified with acquisitions including sportsbook Bet.Works, daily fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight, and free-to-play games provider SportCaller.