Bally’s Corporation has posted revenue figures of $192.3m (£135.9m/€158.1m) for the first quarter of 2021, representing a 76.3% increase from this time last year.
Gaming revenue was the biggest contributor to the total figure, drawing in $152.9m, which is more than double the $75.8m gaming brought in last year.
Bally’s sites the easing of Covid-19 restrictions as a major factor, as well as the acquisition of the likes of Casino KC, Casino Vicksburg, Bally’s Atlantic City and Eldorado Shreveport – all of which performed positively in the second half of the period.
Food and drinks brought in $15.5m, hotel revenue was $13.1m, racing raised $2.4m and other sources contributed $8.4m.
The Southeast proved to be the most lucrative region for the company, recording revenue of $64.6m, thanks mostly to the addition of these new facilities.
While the $50.7m raised by Rhode Island put it in second, it remained the only region to decrease in revenue from this time last year – a 9.9% drop.
Revenue for the Mid-Atlantic and West regions rose dramatically, again helped by new casinos; Mid-Atlantic figures rose 128.9% to $48.3m, and the West’s $26.1m was a 485.2% increase on Q1 in 2020.
Expenses rose by 45.0% to $162.8m; advertising and general costs amounted to $80.5m, gaming costs were $45.2m, food and drink costs totaled $12.2m, acquisition, restructuring and integration costs came to $12.3m and depreciation and amortisation expenses were $12.7m. These costs were then reduced by $10.7m due to insurance recoveries to get to the final $162.8m figure.
After these losses, income from operations saw a significant increase, rising 1030.1% to $29.5m.
Other expenses added up to $45.0m, mostly due to naming rights liabilities, meaning that overall, the company posted net losses of $10.7m, a 20.2% increase on last year’s results.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 137.9% to $52.5m.
Bally’s president and CEO George Papanier said: “This was a remarkable first quarter for Bally’s. As COVID-19 vaccinations rolled out, and capacity restrictions and other protocols loosened, we experienced a strong rebound in demand that led to a significant increase in visitation.
“During this quarter, we also continued to implement our disciplined M&A strategy. We closed
our acquisition of Monkey Knife Fight, the fastest growing daily fantasy sports site in North America, and acquired SportCaller, a leading global B2B free-to-play game provider.
“We also announced an agreement to acquire Gamesys, a leading, global online gaming operator and the number one provider of bingo and casino games in the UK. The Gamesys transaction marks a transformational step in our drive to become the first truly, integrated, omnichannel gaming company with a B2B2C business model.”