Bally Corporation’s revenue increased in the second quarter of 2023, but high operating costs and expenses cut heavily into the profit margins.
The plan for the legal sports betting, iGaming, and casino company is to bring down costs for the rest of the year.
Rhode Island-based Bally, which owns online sports betting operator Bally Bet, claimed $606.2 million in revenue during the second quarter, up 9.8% year-over-year and a less than 2% increase from the first quarter of 2023, according to figures released by the company on Thursday.
That came despite shutting down Bally Bet to undergo a new technology renovation that CEO Robeson Reeves said Thursday should be completed in time for summer rollout and complete integration from Kambi PLC and White Hat Gaming by early 2024.
Bally spent $600.2 million on operating costs and expenses. Gaming costs increased 7.2% year-over-year to $219 million.
“Bally's had a consolidated net loss in the quarter of $25.7 million and generated Adjusted EBITDAR of $161.4 million, up 8.7% from last year, and Adjusted EBITDA of $130.0 million,” Reeves said.
“For the six-month period through June 2023, net income was $152.7 million with Adjusted EBITDAR of $319.0 million, up 16.1% from last year, and Adjusted EBITDA of $256.4 million.”
Gaming increases
Bally International Interactive produced $247.7 million, a 1.7% increase from the same quarter in 2022. The gaming sector for Bally accounted for $493.2 million, a nearly 9% increase year-over-year.
Thanks to gaming expansion into New Jersey, which increased 131% year-over-year, revenue from the North American market jumped 40% to $25.2 million.
When the Bally Bet platform returns, it’ll operate online sports betting sites in seven states, including Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, New York, and Indiana by the end of the year. It has access to online sports betting licenses in 18 states.
Casino growth
Much of Bally’s positive growth in the second quarter came from retail locations.
“Our core casinos and resorts segment produced record second-quarter revenues of $333.2 million, an 11.1% increase compared to the second quarter of 2022,” Reeves said.
Bally currently owns and manages 17 casinos in 10 states. It has two brick-and-mortar sportsbooks operating with two additional retail locations coming by the end of the year under the Bally Bet brand.
Looking ahead
The first half of 2023 produced revenue of $1.2 billion, leading to projected revenue for the year now topping $2.5 billion.
Bally also projects Adjusted EBITDAR in the range of $650 million to $700 million by the end of the year.
The company is also adding $10 million more than previous projections for the North American Interactive costs, raising Adjusted EBITDAR losses to $50-$60 million.
"Bally's made significant strides this quarter, announcing new initiatives, achieving important project milestones, and building on our strong foundation for 2023 and beyond," Reeves said.
