Casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CEC) officially joined its rivals in the sports betting market derby, right on the heels of one Atlantic City casino that has started taking sports bets this week.
Bally’s Wild Wild West have started accepting sports bets on Monday morning, while its sister casino Harrah’s Resort will open its doors to punters on Wednesday, according to CEC. This makes the twin gambling facilities the third and fourth casinos to offer sports betting in Atlantic City.
Bally’s temporary sportsbook operation inside Wild Wild West reportedly has 30 leather chairs placed right in front of three large television screens and five smaller screens. Bally’s has converted its shuttered cashier windows to sports wagering windows. Harrah’s sports wagering space looks quite similar to Bally’s, although Harrah’s only has 28 leather chairs, six high-top tables and five screens for viewing.
CEC also plans to bring sports betting in Mississippi by mid-August through its casino properties, Horseshoe Tunica and Harrah’s Gulf Coast resorts.
The casino operator’s announcement came a day after its rival MGM declared it will create a $200 million sports betting and online gaming joint venture with UK-based GVC Holdings, one of the world’s largest bookmakers.
CEC has tapped gambling technology provider Scientific Games Corporation (Sci Games) to provide its OpenBet sportsbook platform in New Jersey and Mississippi. CEC President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Frissora described its partnership with Sci Games to be strategic since the casino operator also plans to roll out mobile sports betting throughout New Jersey and Mississippi.
Frissora pointed out that the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 allows CEC to expand its “sports betting digital and mobile offerings into new markets.”
One of the advantages that CEC have against its rivals in Atlantic City is its experience operating sportsbooks in Las Vegas, according to Frissora.
“We recognize that our customers expect exciting new experiences, which is why we will continue to offer new products through our mobile and digital platforms and inside our properties,” Frissora said in a statement.
Showing posts with label Bally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bally. Show all posts
July 31, 2018
June 06, 2014
Bally acquire social casino company Dragonplay
Bally Technologies today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dragonplay Ltd. (“Dragonplay”), a leading online social casino company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with top-grossing applications for Android, as well as a significant presence on Facebook and Apple iOS.
Launched in 2010, Dragonplay ranks among the 10 top-grossing game developers in the social casino genre with approximately 700,000 daily active users (“DAU”) and nearly three million MAU across all platforms. In the “Card” category on Google Play, Dragonplay’s poker game Live Hold’em Pro is ranked number one in the top-grossing category.1 In the “Casino” category on Google Play, Dragonplay Slots is a top 10 performer in terms of active users.1
“With over three years of topping various performance charts on Google Play, Dragonplay has successfully and consistently demonstrated its ability to acquire, monetize and retain social gamers by creating compelling games with staying power in the social casino space,” said Bally’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Haddrill. “We expect this strategic acquisition to help position Bally at the forefront of social casino gaming by leveraging our world-class content, including proprietary table games and award-winning video slots, on Dragonplay’s increasingly popular social casino. Additionally, with the majority of its revenues generated from smartphones and tablets, Dragonplay has proven remarkable foresight and leadership in the mobile space, which is the fastest growing segment of social gaming.”
Total consideration includes approximately $51 million in upfront cash, plus the amount of net working capital, payable to Dragonplay’s shareholders in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding equity, and approximately $49 million in additional earn-out consideration and employee retention payments over the next 18 months subject to Dragonplay meeting certain financial performance targets. Bally expects to fund the transaction from cash on hand and proceeds from its revolving credit facility. For the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, Dragonplay generated over $10 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, including share-based compensation).
Dragonplay’s Chief Executive Officer Sharon Tal said, “Dragonplay and Bally share complementary cultures focused on innovation and user experience. Both companies are committed to providing unique and stimulating content to players across the globe that enjoy playing entertaining casino-style games. I am confident that leveraging Bally’s vast library of proven slot and proprietary table game content will provide our loyal player base with an even more robust experience, which is expected to augment Dragonplay’s growth trajectory.”
Subject to completion of certain customary closing conditions, Bally expects to close the acquisition of Dragonplay in July 2014 and expects the acquisition to be accretive to Bally’s fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings per share.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal are serving as legal counsel to Bally. The Raine Group is serving as financial advisor to Dragonplay, and Fenwick & West LLP and Raved, Magriso, Benkel & Co are serving as legal counsel to Dragonplay.
Launched in 2010, Dragonplay ranks among the 10 top-grossing game developers in the social casino genre with approximately 700,000 daily active users (“DAU”) and nearly three million MAU across all platforms. In the “Card” category on Google Play, Dragonplay’s poker game Live Hold’em Pro is ranked number one in the top-grossing category.1 In the “Casino” category on Google Play, Dragonplay Slots is a top 10 performer in terms of active users.1
“With over three years of topping various performance charts on Google Play, Dragonplay has successfully and consistently demonstrated its ability to acquire, monetize and retain social gamers by creating compelling games with staying power in the social casino space,” said Bally’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Haddrill. “We expect this strategic acquisition to help position Bally at the forefront of social casino gaming by leveraging our world-class content, including proprietary table games and award-winning video slots, on Dragonplay’s increasingly popular social casino. Additionally, with the majority of its revenues generated from smartphones and tablets, Dragonplay has proven remarkable foresight and leadership in the mobile space, which is the fastest growing segment of social gaming.”
Total consideration includes approximately $51 million in upfront cash, plus the amount of net working capital, payable to Dragonplay’s shareholders in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding equity, and approximately $49 million in additional earn-out consideration and employee retention payments over the next 18 months subject to Dragonplay meeting certain financial performance targets. Bally expects to fund the transaction from cash on hand and proceeds from its revolving credit facility. For the 12 months ended March 31, 2014, Dragonplay generated over $10 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, including share-based compensation).
Dragonplay’s Chief Executive Officer Sharon Tal said, “Dragonplay and Bally share complementary cultures focused on innovation and user experience. Both companies are committed to providing unique and stimulating content to players across the globe that enjoy playing entertaining casino-style games. I am confident that leveraging Bally’s vast library of proven slot and proprietary table game content will provide our loyal player base with an even more robust experience, which is expected to augment Dragonplay’s growth trajectory.”
Subject to completion of certain customary closing conditions, Bally expects to close the acquisition of Dragonplay in July 2014 and expects the acquisition to be accretive to Bally’s fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings per share.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal are serving as legal counsel to Bally. The Raine Group is serving as financial advisor to Dragonplay, and Fenwick & West LLP and Raved, Magriso, Benkel & Co are serving as legal counsel to Dragonplay.
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