Bally’s Corporation has added another sports entity to its roster of partnerships.
The Rhode Island-based gaming operator Wednesday announced it will enter a sports betting partnership and team sponsorship with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
The deal gives Bally’s access to Arizona’s sports betting market. Bally’s is the first sports betting operator to gain market access through a partnership with a woman’s professional sports team.
Bally’s will be designated July 1 as the exclusive sports betting partner of the Phoenix Mercury for 15 years. After the team’s receipt of a mobile sports betting license from the Arizona Department of Gaming, Bally’s will host and manage an online and mobile sports betting service in Arizona, operate a retail sportsbook near the Phoenix Suns Arena, and do promotions at Phoenix Mercury games.
“This agreement represents so much more than a team sponsorship; it is a reflection of our shared values and commitment to investing in diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Phoenix Mercury CEO and President Jason Rowley in a statement. “We could not think of a better way to celebrate the Mercury’s 25th year in the WNBA, and what many consider to be the model franchise.”
Bally’s also will become a member of the “Phoenix Mercury Changemaker Partners” a group of companies that value diversity, equity and inclusion, and invest in women’s sports.
“Maintaining and implementing a strong diversity, equity and inclusion program is a cornerstone of Bally’s operational values, and we look forward to promoting those values as part of our sponsorship with the Phoenix Mercury and hope that other major corporations follow in our footsteps,” said Chairman of Bally’s Corporation’s Board of Directors Chairman Soo Kim in a statement. “We are also excited about the prospect of providing sports fans in Arizona with access to our first-in-class online sports betting platform, and enhancing the way that they engage with their favorite sports pastimes.”
Bally’s entered partnership agreements this year the NBA and the NHL, and became the authorized gaming operator of Major League Baseball. It also opened the FanDuel Sportsbook at Bally’s Atlantic City Casino & Hotel.
