Bally’s wins Nevada Gaming Control Board approval for Gamesys transaction

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Bally’s Corp. took another step toward becoming an omnichannel gaming powerhouse Wednesday with the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s unanimous approval of its acquisition of Great Britain-based Gamesys Group plc.

The board’s recommendation, which goes to the Nevada Gaming Commission Oct. 28, was part of Bally’s request to amend its registration as a gaming company in the state.

Gamesys would be a key piece of the structure of Bally’s, which is acquiring the Tropicana in Las Vegas. It’s a global, online gaming operator that would tie in to the company’s strategy to serve customers in casinos or on the internet.

Bally’s Chief Financial Officer Steve Capp explained the strategy in a hearing in Carson City. Addressing inquiries from board member Phil Katsaros, Capp said Bally’s intends to use the Gamesys platform for online operations including sports betting, iCasino play, poker, bingo, daily fantasy sports and free-to-play games.

Providence, Rhode Island-based Bally’s already operates 14 casinos and has sportsbooks in the United States with its Bet.Works subsidiary and daily fantasy sports games through subsidiary Monkey Knife Fight.

Through a partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Bally’s also has 19 regional sports networks. Using Gamesys as a business-to-business and business-to-consumer operation, his company may commercialize the platform for possible use by other operators, Capp said.

“We welcome revenue from many streams,” he told the board.

Katsaros inquired about the multiple channels Bally’s is building and told Capp “you have everything but slot manufacturing.”

A predecessor of the current company was a leader in the development of pinball and slot machines.

Earlier this month, Bally’s announced the completion of the acquisition of Gamesys for a reported $2.8 billion pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

With the acquisition of Gamesys comes several leadership changes. Former Gamesys CEO Lee Fenton will now serve as Bally’s CEO. Former Bally’s CEO George Papanier will assume the role of president of retail, for Bally’s land-based casino business, and former Gamesys Chief Operating Officer Robeson Reeves will assume the role of president of interactive.

Fenton, Reeves and Jim Ryan, former Gamesys non-executive director, have been appointed to serve on Bally’s board of directors.

rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.