Bally’s Laying Off 15% Of Its Interactive Employees

Bally’s, who had their plans for the largest Illinois casino approved by the Chicago City Council within a year, has now announced layoffs of up to 15% of their interactive division workforce.

Bally’s Corporation informed its employees on Thursday, Jan. 19 of its decision to lay off workers and submitted a comprehensive letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining the rationale for the move – citing the slow growth of the North American interactive market.

In a message to employees, Bally’s CEO Lee Fenton stated that the layoffs were a result of the company’s higher levels of hiring during the pandemic.

Fenton acknowledged that the pandemic caused a significant increase in their business, resulting in a need for rapid hiring. In hindsight, they understand that they may have hired too many employees in certain areas. Fenton takes full responsibility for this situation.

It is unclear which department of Bally’s will be impacted by layoffs. Nevertheless, Fenton’s previous statements have drawn attention to the company’s sportsbook, Bally Bet, as a potential target for workforce reductions.

Fenton has openly discussed the slow revenue growth of Bally Bet. During a November earnings conference call, Fenton stated:

The progress in our sports sector has not been as fast as expected. Therefore, we will hold off on allocating marketing funds to the sports iGaming markets until we reach the desired level of user experience and technological advancement. Our goal is to minimize losses in sports betting, which aligns with the vision for North America Interactive.

News likely puts Bally Bet Illinois sportsbook on hold

In November, Play Illinois pondered which sports betting operators are likely to join the Illinois market next.

We provided Bally Bet with the second-best odds (3-1) for a specific reason. The company has two potential options for connecting an online sportsbook with one of its physical casino locations: either the existing Bally’s Quad City Casino and Hotel in Rock Island or the upcoming Bally’s Chicago casino.

Bally’s demonstrated a strong interest and intent to secure a sportsbook license from the Illinois Gaming Board by submitting an application in September.

Nonetheless, the recent layoffs and Bally’s increased focus on its online casino operations might hinder any immediate plans the company has to introduce a sportsbook in Illinois.

Will Bally’s layoffs impact the Chicago casino?

Bally’s emerged victorious in the bidding process in May 2022 to establish a casino in the River West district of Chicago.

In November, Bally’s purchased the Chicago Tribune printing plant for $200 million, intending to develop a casino on the 30-acre site at a later date.

The Chicago City Council gave the green light to Bally’s casino zoning plan in December. Now, Bally’s is waiting for approval from the IGB before starting construction on what will become Illinois’ biggest casino.

Given the continued advancements at Bally’s, it is unlikely that the Chicago casino will be impacted by the layoffs.

Additionally, Bally Bet has achieved considerable success and profitability with its online casino. As a result, Fenton has stated that states that have legalized iGaming, or are contemplating allowing online casino gaming in 2023, will be a top focus.

Fenton emphasized that their main focus is on iGaming states, with a particular emphasis on markets like Pennsylvania and Ontario. They intend to allocate resources towards states where they predict the regulation of iGaming in 2023.

Many believe that online casinos will be legalized in Illinois in 2023, leading to the belief that Bally’s Casino Chicago will continue to thrive and remain popular.