Bally’s Casino Rebrands: in Pursuit of Becoming a National Gambling Brand

The rebirth of Bally’s as a gambling brand is well underway. Twin River rescued the brand from the dustbin of history last year and has done a remarkable job revitalizing the once prominent Bally’s name as it positions itself as a national casino and online gambling company.

The latest development is a rebrand of three Colorado casinos, The Golden Gates Casino, Golden Gulch Casino, and Mardi Gras Casino, which will sport the Bally’s brand. All three properties will now go by the name Bally’s Black Hawk with one slight variation to differentiate them:

• Bally’s Black Hawk North
• Bally’s Black Hawk East
• Bally’s Black Hawk West

One of the company’s Nevada properties, MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, will transform into Bally’s Lake Tahoe.

Bally’s executive vice president and casino operations and CMO Phil Juliano, said, “This is the first step in a concerted effort to rebrand all 14 land-based casino properties in addition to establishing an omnichannel brand for online sports betting, igaming offerings and fantasy sports.”

A Look at Bally’s Land-Based Casino Portfolio

Bally’s casino and gambling interests are growing after a spate of acquisitions in recent years. The company currently boasts 16 properties across ten states:

• Colorado: Golden Gates Casino, Golden Gulch Casino, Mardi Gras Casino, and Arapahoe Park
• Delaware: Dover Downs Hotel & Casino
• Illinois: Jumer’s Casino & Hotel
• Indiana: Tropicana Evansville
• Louisiana: Eldorado Shreveport
• Mississippi: Hard Rock Casino and Casino Vicksburg
• Missouri: Casino KC
• Nevada: Montbleu Resort Casino, Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
• New Jersey: Bally’s Atlantic City
• Rhode Island: Twin River Casino and Tiverton Casino

Sports betting is legal in nine of the ten states (Missouri being the lone holdout) and online casino is legal in New Jersey and Delaware. Bally’s also has sports betting market access in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The Bally Bet sports betting app is available in two states, Iowa and Virginia.

An Online Gambling Brand Created Out of Whole Cloth

The casino rebrands represent one side of the coin for Bally’s. The other side of the coin is creating a national Bally’s sports betting and online gambling brand, Bally Bet, which Bally’s hopes can compete with the other prominent players in the industry, from DraftKings, to FanDuel to BetMGM to Barstool Sports.

Even before it went live in a single state, the company masterfully spread the word about the sports betting and online gambling option through a unique deal with Sinclair Broadcasting, which resulted in 19 Fox Sports regional sports networks renamed Bally’s Sports.

The company also purchased daily fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight and SportCaller, a free-to-play sporting game provider that offers prediction, quiz/trivia, pay-to-play, bespoke and turnkey app games.

Overnight Success For BallyBet Seems Unlikely

The rebrand will take time to catch on and will likely take many months before it bears fruit. That said, Bally’s approach is commendable, as it is one of the few companies that appears focused on a long-term strategy to the US sports betting market.

While its competitors have masterfully bought their way into US sports betting markets and are more than happy to spend countless amounts of money to grab market share, Bally’s is taking a more organic approach as it creates a recognizable national brand with a smaller, regional feel to it.