Casino Op Bally’s Acquires AVP to Gamify Beach Volleyball

Casino and online gambling operator Bally’s Corporation on Tuesday announced that it has bought the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) in the latest manifestation of an ongoing acquisition spree.

AVP is the premier professional beach volleyball organization in the United States. It hosts the nation’s longest-running domestic beach volleyball tour.

Bally’s said that this latest acquisition represents one more step in the company’s omni-channel growth and diversification strategy. The transaction is further expected to provide a significant opportunity for the company to “gamify and incorporate interactive content into beach volleyball.” The popular sport will in turn drive traffic to Bally’s online and retail gambling platforms and promote customer acquisition.

No financial details about the deal were provided. Bally’s said that as part of the transaction, it has obtained all of AVP’s assets, including the association’s trademarks, AVP America promoter agreements, and associated digital photo and video assets, membership revenue, as well as all proprietary tournament and league management software.

The operator will leverage AVP’s existing distribution channels as well as its recently announced partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group to increase customer engagement with the beach volleyball league and awareness of said league.

Bally’s teamed up with Sinclair in April in a move that will see the two companies produce and broadcast Bally’s content on Sinclair’s 19 regional sports networks that have been rebranded as Bally’s Sports.

Bally’s to Explore Creative Ways to Amplify and Gamify Beach Volleyball

Commenting on their latest acquisition, Bally’s SVP Strategy and Interactive Adi Dhandhania said that the AVP is “an attractive asset” that complements their rapidly expanding “US sports betting vision.”

Mr. Dhandhania also praised the association’s team for having done “a tremendous job developing the league and transforming it into what it is today.” The official further said they are looking forward to exploring ways to “amplify and gamify” beach volleyball and providing fans of this “dynamic and high-growth” sport with unique and interactive content.

AVP’s former owner and CEO Donald Sun said that forming a relationship with a trusted and forward-thinking partner offers an opportunity to outline a strategic roadmap that will grow beach volleyball’s footprint and deliver new resources to better elevate the sport and its athletes.

Mr. Sun will be an “integral part” during the upcoming transition, saying that they will all focus on the best interests of their athletes, fans of beach volleyball, AVP staff and partners.

As mentioned above, this is the latest deal in Bally’s ongoing spending spree which recently saw the company add Tropicana Evansville in Indiana and Jumer’s Casino and Hotel in Rock Island, Illinois to its portfolio of properties.

It was also a few weeks ago when it closed the acquisition of sports betting technology firm Bet.Works in a move that will help Bally’s become a “premier, full-service, vertically integrated sports betting and iGaming company in the US with physical casinos, online gambling solutions, and a B2B2C business united under a single, preeminent brand.”

Source: Bally’s Corporation Acquires The Association Of Volleyball Professionals, PR Newswire, July 13, 2021