Bally’s sports betting platform, Bally Bet, officially launched in Indiana on Thursday. The company received authorization to launch its mobile offering earlier this week from the Indiana Gaming Commission.
Bally Bet is the 13th mobile sports wagering platform to go live in Indiana, which legalized sports betting in May 2019. On Sept. 1, 2019, retail locations began taking sports wagers, and a month later mobile sports betting came to Indiana. It’s been popular within the state since launching and a lucrative endeavor for operators. Indiana sportsbook operators enjoyed a banner month in November, recording nearly $48 million in revenue.
November #SportsBetting numbers, #Indiana note:
Indiana became the FIFTH state (NJ, NV, PA, IL) to clear $45 million in operator revenue in a single month.#GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 10, 2021
Bally’s increases reach
Bally Bet was previously live in Iowa, Colorado, and Virginia. As for Indiana, Bally’s has a sizable presence within the state. Fans of the Indiana Pacers likely watch the team’s games on Bally Sports Indiana, and the company owns Bally’s Casino Evansville.
INBOX: Bally Bet has begun accepting mobile wagers in #Indiana via its Bally’s Evansville location. #SportsBetting
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) December 16, 2021
In addition to its Indiana presence, Bally’s has big plans for its future in the U.S. Company executives say they want to create a more comprehensive betting experience, utilizing media, a digital wallet, chat functions, and more to engage and entertain each user.
“We will combine media assets with chat, trivia, all the stuff you should be able to do when you’re watching sports with your friends,” board Chairman Soo Kim told Sports Handle in November.
Kim added that Bally’s plans to have three iterations of Bally Bet. The first version, dubbed Bally Bet 1.0, is currently offered in states where the app is live, and that’s what Indiana customers can use as of this week. The second iteration will combine the BetWorks platform and Gamesys technology, and Bally’s plans to launch that iteration in Arizona in 2022.
As for the third version of Bally Bet, it’s supposed to integrate various features in hopes of providing a comprehensive betting experience for fans of both watching and betting on sports. Essentially, Kim believes Bally Bet is still in the early stages of its development, but once finished, Kim hopes it will be transformational for sports viewers.
“I think that that is going to be the alternative,” Kim told Sports Handle. “That’s what’s going to save television.”
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