Revenue for Bally’s Corporation’s North American sports betting and iGaming division rose 70.2% year-over-year, providing good news for the casino and resort company that reported a $179.3 million net loss in the first quarter of 2024.
According to this week’s quarterly release, online gaming in the U.S. and Canada generated $41.5 million of revenue, up from the $24.4 million to start 2023. Bally’s took a $10.2 million loss in adjusted EBITDAR, $400K less than a year ago. Bally’s Chief Executive Officer, Robeson Reeves had this to say:
"Bally’s is off to a solid start in 2024, driven by revenue growth in our Casinos & Resorts and North America Interactive segments."
Revenue across all sectors of Bally’s rose 3.3% year-over-year to $618.5 million in Q1. Gaming revenue of $516.1 million was up 6% compared to 2023, while Casino and Resorts produced revenue of $342.3 million — up 4.1%.
iGaming growth
First-quarter North American Interactive results were “in line” with Bally’s expectations and guidance. Online casino gaming is spearheading much of the success as the segment continues to expand and grow across the U.S., especially.
“Importantly, our iGaming operations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania continue to gain market share,” Reeves said. “We also successfully launched iGaming in Rhode Island in early March. iGaming revenues in Rhode Island have ramped nicely through April in accordance with expectations, and we believe this momentum will continue to build through the balance of 2024.”
International changes
The company announced that revenue from the International segment fell 4.4% year-over-year from $245.6 million to $234.7 million in Q1, primarily from operations outside of the U.K. and because of a focus on maximizing profit over uneconomic growth.
Bally’s is set to launch online sports betting in the U.K. later this year, which could help offset some of the early losses. Reeves spoke on this:
"In the UK, we took advantage of the uncertainties created by the White Paper and continued our online iGaming market share gains, resulting in strong revenue growth. As the year progresses, we look forward to the launch of online sports betting in the UK to complement our iGaming offering and add another customer acquisition funnel."
Massive loss
What a difference a year makes. Bally’s generated a net income of $178.3 million in Q1 2023. What changed to reach such a steep loss in 2024?
Bally’s said the hits stemmed from poor weather conditions in January that kept people indoors and construction of the Providence Bridge in Rhode Island, which impacted traffic at Bally’s largest profit center, Twin River Casino.
The slow shutdown of Tropicana in Las Vegas, which closed its doors for good last month, also contributed to losses. The property is set to be the site of a new MLB stadium that will house the Oakland Athletics following a move to Las Vegas.
Looking ahead
Despite the challenges of Q1, Bally’s is undeterred in its guidance for the rest of 2024.
The company is expecting North American Interactive to produce revenue in the range of $150 million to $200 million for the year. Revenue for all sectors could land between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion in 2024.
“Our financial results for the first quarter of 2024 demonstrate the strength of our diversified business segments,” Bally’s CFO Marcus Glover said. “Bally’s operating teams remain focused on reducing expenses and enhancing operating efficiency.
“We are evaluating all business areas and implementing initiatives to streamline or centralize operations where it makes sense. Overall, we made progress on several of these initiatives in the first quarter and are looking forward to the promising opportunities that lie ahead.”
