Bally Bet announced recently that it was shutting down its online sports betting operation for an unspecified amount of time. The suspension of operations is necessary so the company can transition from its own platform to Kambi’s sports betting platform.
The company spent an estimated $3 billion on setting up its own sports betting platform but it underperformed. In New York and Indiana, where specific numbers are available, Bally Bet had less than one percent of the online handle. It eventually wrote off $400 million in costs.
The hope is that Kambi can increase the numbers by attracting more customers. The move also allows the option to acquire a limited online and in-person betting license of Kambi’s technology.
The BallyBet.com website now leads to a list of questions and answers about next steps. The earlier announcement of the B2B deal did not mention any substantial downtime for the app.
The move takes effect on June 30 for five of the six states and the Canadian province where Bally Bet operates. Ohio, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada will be down. Arizona, however, will continue to operate.
Customers who failed to withdraw their funds should expect to see a check to the address they gave the company.
When the move was first announced in May, details of how long the app will be down were vague. A press release did say that the work would take place over the “next few months” and the switch should be complete by the end of the year.
There is a strong chance that the work will not be done before the start of the 2023 NFL season. That could negatively impact Bally Bet since a large amount of the company’s handle comes from football.
When Kambi’s platform is complete, customers who choose to return will have to sign up again.
