Interactive growth pushes revenue up 8.6% to $2.45bn at Bally’s in 2023
Revenue was higher in all divisions at Bally’s in 2023. While Casino and Resorts remained its primary source of revenue, interactive activities across North American and international markets generated more revenue.
The past year saw several major developments for Bally’s. Early in 2023, Bally’s announced it was cutting 15% of its North American interactive workforce to reduce cut costs. Then came the news that Diamond Sports Group, operator of the Bally’s branded TV sports networks, was close to bankruptcy.
However, as the year progressed, the situation brightened for Bally’s, under the leadership of new CEO Robeson Reeves, who joined in March.
Stand-out highlights included outsourcing its sports betting tech stack to Kambi and White Hat Gaming. In September, Bally’s also made the move into the UK igaming sector, rolling out Bally’s-branded online casino on Gamesys’ existing Megaways Casino site.
“Significant” land-based opportunities for Bally’s
As for land-based activities, Bally’s opened a temporary land-based casino in Chicago, Illinois in Q3. In addition, a deal with Major League Baseball franchise Oakland Athletics will see its new ballpark built on a portion of Bally’s existing Tropicana Las Vegas property, which closed in April.
On the whole, Reeves was upbeat about the 2023 results. He said growth across its land-based and interactive businesses place Bally’s in a solid position for further growth in 2024. Reeves also picked out developments in New York, where Bally’s hopes to open a new casino.
“We’re in the early stages of what will be a lengthy and multifaceted journey towards building a world-class, super-regional casino and entertainment complex in the Bronx at Bally’s Golf Links Ferry Point,” Reeves said.
“Securing the licence is the first step. And should we achieve this milestone, we believe we’ll have a highly attractive and competitive proposal that will allow for numerous pathways to actualise our vision.
“Our development opportunities in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York include significant optionality and unique long-term growth prospects and we expect to begin converting these development opportunities into value for Bally’s stakeholders, starting in 2024.”
Net loss shortens in 2023
Taking a look at 2023, gaming revenue was 7.9% higher at $1.99bn and non-gaming revenue climbed 11.7% to $457.0m.
Revenue from the land-based casino and resorts business increased by 11.0% to $1.36bn. Meanwhile, international interactive revenue edged up 2.9% to $973.2m. However, it was in North America where Bally’s reported the most interactive growth. Here, revenue jumped 37.8% to $112.6m for the year.
Turning to spending, total operating costs fell 8.7% to $2.34bn for the year. After including $289.7m in other expenses, this left a pre-tax loss of $167.6m, an improvement on $454.5m in 2022.
Bally’s paid $5.0m in tax, meaning it ended the year with a net loss of $172.6m, compared to $425.5m in the previous year. However, adjusted EBITDA for 2023 slipped 3.9% to $527.3m.
Revenue rises 6.1% in Q4
As for the final quarter of the year, revenue in Q4 climbed 6.1% to $611.7m. This includes $503.0m in gaming revenue, up 9.0%, and non-gaming revenue of $108.7m, a drop of 5.6%.
Q4 casino and resorts revenue climbed 7.2% to $342.3m. International interactive revenue was 2.1% higher at $236.0m, and North American interactive revenue up 27.0% to $33.4m.
Revenue growth was accompanied by a decline in spending, with operating expenses falling 11.8% to $909.5m. After also accounting for $113.7m in other costs, pre-tax loss for Q4 was $411.6m, less than $517.4m in 2022.
Bally’s received $148.1m in tax benefits, meaning net loss for the quarter reached $263.5m, an improvement on $487.5m in the previous year. As for adjusted EBITDA, this declined by 11.3% to $129.3m.
Bally’s eyes further growth in 2024
Looking to 2024, Bally’s is upbeat about its growth prospects. Presenting guidance for the full year, Bally’s said revenue is likely to amount to between $2.50bn and $2.70bn.
The operator also expects to generate 2024 adjusted EBITDA in the range of $655.0m to $695.0m.
“The full-year guidance includes the impact of severe winter weather on January results in the casinos and resorts segment followed by stabilisation thus far in February, as well as the impact the closure of the Tropicana Las Vegas will have on our 2024 year-over-year comparisons,” Bally’s said.
“It also includes continued growth in the international interactive business and the launch of igaming in Rhode Island in our North America interactive segment.”