Casino company Bally's Corporation (BALY), which has recently been dabbling in online sports betting and acquired internet fantasy sports platform Monkey Knife Fight, inked a deal with the NBA yesterday. Bally's is now an "authorized sports betting operator" of the basketball organization, though the partnership isn't exclusive.
Bally's says the arrangement lets it use the NBA's symbols in its online sports betting pages and apps and gives it the ability to tap into "official league data." The alliance is Bally's second, with the first being a deal with the NHL publicly announced on Feb. 18, approximately two weeks ago. Betting and fantasy sports for both leagues is being handled by Bally's Bet.Works, Monkey Knife Fight, and SportCaller.
Image source: Getty Images.
Bally's CEO George Papanier remarked the newly minted alliance with the NBA "is an exceptional opportunity for Bally's, adding to our ongoing momentum with professional sports leagues."
Investors appear to agree, with the company's shares trading up more than 1.6% in morning trading. This stands in stark contrast to sports betting rival DraftKings (DKNG 1.63%), which continues a plunge that began earlier this week with a more than 7% drop in early Friday trading.
DraftKings is falling after a pair of potentially flawed deals. The first, with DISH Network, doesn't enable seamless onscreen TV wagering, but instead requires users to complete their bet using the DraftKings app on a mobile device anyway, potentially gutting any advantage gained through the deal. The second was a partnership yesterday with MMA and combat sports organization UFC. The deal isn't exclusive, and UFC remains available on other digital sportsbooks, but DraftKings paid over $100 million for it regardless.
