Bally's

History

Bally’s Corporation began as Twin River Management Group, a Delaware-incorporated company created in 2004 to operate the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Under its former name, the company expanded through a string of regional casino and racing facility acquisitions, building a portfolio of properties in locations such as Dover, Delaware; Kansas City, Missouri; and Vicksburg, Mississippi. The turning point came in 2020, when Twin River Worldwide Holdings acquired Bally’s Atlantic City and the Bally’s brand from Caesars Entertainment. The company changed its corporate name to Bally’s Corporation and began rebranding its regional properties under the Bally’s name.

Digital Expansion

A second major turning point came in 2021, when Bally’s acquired London-listed Gamesys Group for roughly £2 billion. Gamesys brought an established international online gambling business, including popular brands such as Jackpotjoy, Vera&John and Slingo, and became the basis for Bally’s Interactive. In the U.S., the company used the acquisition to launch Bally Bet, its sportsbook app, and Bally Casino, an online real-money casino platform. These products have since gone live in multiple regulated states, giving Bally’s a digital presence that complements its physical properties.

Land-Based Portfolio

Bally’s land-based business includes casino hotels, riverboat casinos and racino-style facilities across the United States. Key properties include Bally’s Atlantic City, Bally’s Lake Tahoe in Nevada, Bally’s Twin River Lincoln in Rhode Island, Bally’s Tiverton, Bally’s Dover, and regional casinos in Evansville, Kansas City, Tunica, Black Hawk, Quad Cities and Shreveport. The company also holds one of the most prominent new concessions in the U.S. market: Chicago’s first casino. A temporary casino opened in 2023, and a permanent resort is planned on the former Chicago Tribune publishing site, with an estimated budget of $1.7 billion.

Business Model and Regulation

Bally’s describes itself as a vertically integrated, multi-channel operator. It earns revenue from slot machines, table games, hotel accommodations, dining and entertainment at its land-based casinos, and from online sports betting and casino gaming through state-licensed digital operations. Its regulatory footprint includes gaming licenses across numerous U.S. states as well as regulated international markets served by its former Gamesys brands. This combination of physical properties and digital brands places Bally’s among the larger regional casino operators in North America.

Leadership and Ownership

The company’s current leadership includes Chairman Soo Hyun Kim, who is the founder of Standard General, the investment firm that became Bally’s largest shareholder. Robeson K. Reeves has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since April 2022, having previously led Bally’s Interactive and Gamesys. Marcus Glover serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In late 2024, Standard General completed a take-private acquisition of Bally’s, ending the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BALY. The take-private deal capped a rapid transformation from a single Rhode Island casino operator into a national and international gaming company.

Recent Strategic Direction

Since going private, Bally’s has continued to focus on completing its Chicago casino project and integrating its land-based and online operations. The Chicago permanent casino has faced scrutiny from the Chicago City Council after Bally’s decided to slow the pace of the $1.7 billion development. The company has also been working to strengthen its Bally Bet sportsbook and Bally Casino platforms in competitive U.S. digital markets. Its international digital brands continue to generate revenue under the Bally’s Interactive division, and the company remains a notable example of a mid-sized operator using M&A to build a diversified portfolio across both physical and online gaming.