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Bally Bet continues expansion with Maryland launch
Bally Bet launched in both Maryland and Massachusetts in July, and a pending merger could lead to further expansion.
The Bally Bet mobile sportsbook launched in Maryland on Monday, July 29, in the latest development of Bally’s recent expansion efforts.
Bally Bet is now live in nine states after it also launched in Massachusetts earlier in July. It also operates in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Ohio and Virginia. While Bally’s enters the Maryland sports betting market, other online sportsbooks like SuperBook and Betfred have recently exited the Old Line state.
In addition to those recent state launches, Bally Bet parent company, Bally’s Corporation, announced last week that it has entered into a merger agreement with Standard General. Under this agreement, Bally Bet will merge with Standard General’s regional “Queen” casino brand. Assuming it gets regulatory approval, that deal is likely to close in the first half of 2025.
In light of these developments, let’s explore the outlook for sports betting in Maryland and Bally’s prospects in the state.
Maryland sports betting market changes
Bally Bet launched in Maryland following a successful demonstration of its mobile sportsbook platform. Officials from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission verified that Bally Bet “complied with all required procedures and that its systems functioned properly.” The MLGCC subsequently issued Bally’s a mobile-only sports wagering license.
Bally Bet was the second mobile sportsbook to launch recently in Maryland. LetsBetMD went live on July 1 through a partnership with the Veterans Services Corporation (VSC). LetsBetMD operates on a platform provided by UK-based Bee-Fee and is focused on esports markets.
The next new entrant in the Maryland market could be microbetting platform Betr, which applied for a mobile sports betting license earlier this year and is awaiting approval.
With the recent additions of Bally Bet and LetsBetMD, Maryland sports bettors now have 11 different options for mobile sports betting.
SuperBook and Betfred pull out of Maryland
That list would have been a bit longer if not for two recent exits from the Maryland sports betting market.
SuperBook Sports announced on July 19 that it would no longer be operating in eight states, including Maryland. SuperBook is consolidating its operations to focus on its retail sportsbook at Westgate Las Vegas and its Westgate SuperBook mobile app in Nevada.
SuperBook also operates a retail sportsbook at Camden Yards that will continue taking bets through the end of the 2024 MLB season, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Betfred is also leaving Maryland after closing its retail sportsbook at Long Shot’s in Fredrick, MD on June 30, 2024. Betfred also shut down its mobile sportsbook in Maryland on July 31.
SuperBook and Betfred each represented less than 0.001% of the 2024 sports betting market share in Maryland.
Bally Bet’s outlook in Maryland
Bally Bet faces an uphill battle to gain market share in Maryland, which is dominated by FanDuel Sportsbook and (to a lesser extent) DraftKings Sportsbook.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the combined taxable revenue from retail and mobile sports wagering in Maryland was just over $402 million, which translated to a contribution of $60,311,455.84 to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which supports public education programs in the state. Those figures represent a 138% increase from the 2023 fiscal year.
Of that $402 million in FY24 sports wagering revenue, more than $387 million (or 96.2%) came from online sportsbooks while just under $15 million came from retail sportsbooks. Through its partnership with Live! Casino, FanDuel generated more than $228 million in mobile sports betting revenue (58.9%), while DraftKings brought in more than $112 million (28.9%).
Together, FanDuel and DraftKings represent nearly 88% of Maryland’s mobile sportsbook market. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook combine for approximately another 9% of the market. That leaves only about 3% of the market for the other seven sportsbooks including Bally Bet.
For comparison, Bally Bet’s largest market share in other states with available data is around 0.1% or 0.2%. So far in 2024, it has a 1% market share in Indiana. Bally Bet only needs to capture a small sliver of the available market share in Maryland to reach performance levels similar to its other markets. Time will tell if that level of performance will be enough for it to avoid a similar fate to the one that SuperBook and Betfred suffered in the Old Line state.
Bally’s expands retail footprint through Standard General merger and planned Chicago casino
Outside of Maryland, the merger with Standard General not only provides a 35% premium to Bally’s shareholders, but also adds four retail casinos to its portfolio.
Standard General’s affiliate, Queen Casino & Entertainment, operates four retail casinos across three states: DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, IL; the Queen of Baton Rouge and the Belle of Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, LA; and the Casino Queen Marquette in Marquette, IA. With the addition of those properties, Bally’s will now operate 19 retail casinos across 11 states.
Bally’s is also developing a permanent retail casino and a hotel in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. It recently announced it had secured funding that will allow it to develop the casino and the hotel at the same time.
Between its retail expansion and recent mobile sportsbook launches, Bally’s is pursuing growth aggressively in 2024.