Two Ways Twin River Can Leverage The Ballys Brand

The Bally’s casino brand will live on after Twin River Holdings purchased the iconic brand from Caesars Entertainment for $20 million. According to the New York Post, Twin River is going all-in on the Bally’s brand, including updating its ticker from TRWH to a name reflective of Bally’s.

According to the press release, the deal “will allow Twin River to maintain the Bally’s name for the Atlantic City property that it has agreed to purchase from Caesars Entertainment pursuant to the previously announced purchase agreement and enables the Company to rebrand virtually all of its portfolio properties under the Bally’s name and logo.”

Caesars was given a perpetual license for Bally’s Las Vegas as part of the deal.

Bally’s is no longer a top-tier casino name, but it’s an iconic brand that resonates with the general public. From pinball machines to slots to casinos to health clubs, Bally’s has had a fantastic run as a company. The question is, what can Twin River do with its newly acquired brand?

Maintaining the brand in Atlantic City is undoubtedly a benefit as Twin River enters the crowded market. But the Bally’s brand will also pay off around the country, particularly if it’s deployed for its online gambling and sports betting apps in the US.

Twin River’s Growing National Presence

Twin River has evolved into a national player with 13 casinos in eight locales (some sales are still pending).

• Arapahoe Park (Colorado)
• Golden Gates Casino (Colorado)
• Golden Gulch Casino (Colorado)
• Mardi Gras Casino (Colorado)
• Dover Downs Hotel & Casino (Delaware)
• Eldorado Shreveport (Louisiana)
• Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi (Mississippi)
• Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg (Mississippi)
• Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City (Missouri)
• Bally’s AC (New Jersey)
• Mont Bleu Resort Casino (Lake Tahoe, Nevada)
• Twin River (Rhode Island)
• Twin River Tiverton (Rhode Island)

Interestingly, five of the states it operates in possess online sports betting, online casino games, or both.

With Bally’s, Twin River now has the makings of a national gambling brand, rather than a series of locally branded casinos (some bearing the name of direct competitors). That will help guests connect the properties and more easily recognize the reach of the company.  

The singular Bally’s brand brings cohesion to Twin River’s gaming offerings, including the opportunity to bring loyalty rewards programs under one roof.

Twin River and Online Gambling

As noted above, the Bally’s brand’s real strength could be on the online gambling front.

The company has an opportunity to leverage the Bally’s brand in the online gaming states it currently operates, instantly connecting these online products on a national level. That will be extremely important in the New Jersey online betting market, where customers vastly prefer the locally known casino brands to the European and out-of-state operators.

And that’s exactly how Twin River Worldwide Chairman Soo Kim plans to use the Bally’s brand, as the hedge fund manager told the New York Post, the company has plans to launch a Bally’s-branded sports-betting site. “This is an opportunity for us to revive a brand that is synonymous with American gaming,” he said.

Furthermore, it opens the door to potential market access deals with land-based gaming operators in states where Twin River lacks a presence.

Market access deals possess little value to either side without a universal, known brand. It’s an exercise in futility to launch a Twin River app (or Isle of Capri or Dover Downs) in a state that doesn’t possess a Twin River branded casino. The Bally’s brand provides the desired consumer confidence that brings instant credibility to an online gambling site.