Virgin Casino will no longer be using its Tropicana AC license thanks to a brand new partnership that’s been forged with Bally’s AC. Virgin Casino belongs to the Virgin Group, which is mostly associated with Virgin Atlantic. The online casino app was first made accessible to bettors in New Jersey when it launched in the state in 2014.
Back then, VirginCasino.com was launched as a joint effort between Virgin Group and Online game producer Gamesys. To debut its product in New Jersey fast, Gamesys and Virgin also teamed up with Tropicana AC. As part of the partnership, Gamesys would supply VirginCasino.com with the necessary technology to operate while Tropicana would provide the license required by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
This largely explains why VirginCasino.com was among the first casinos to be granted authorization to create a 24-hour online gaming operation in New Jersey. Until recently, the partnership between Gamesys, Tropicana, and Virgin Group had been strong and smooth. But casinos in New Jersey are always shuffling operations due to mergers and acquisitions.
So it comes as no surprise that Virgin Casino will no longer be operating on the Tropicana license that allowed it to debut operations in the Garden State in 2014. Instead, henceforth, VirginCasino.com will be operating on Bally’s license.
But it’s not just VirginCasino.com that’s making serious changes. Moving forward, Tropicana’s online casino will stop using Gamesys technology and replace it with Light and Wonder Technology. Light & Wonder was initially known as Scientific Games Corporation but it re-branded this year in March.
Before the switch, both Virgin and Tropicana had been utilizing the same technology from Gamesys. This explains why there were a lot of similarities between Tropicana’s online casino and VirginCasino.com. The 2 online casinos even offered the same bonuses and designed their websites in the same way. The migration that has occurred has therefore proven to be the best way for the 2 brands to differentiate themselves.
Both Virgin Casino and Tropicana made these big changes on the same day. As VirginCasino.com. was migrating from Tropicana’s license to Bally’s, Tropicana was also switching its tech partners from Gamesys to Light Wonder. For VirginCasino.com to keep utilizing Gamesys technology, Virgin Casino was forced to move from Tropicana to Bally’s, its new brick and mortar licensee.
Aside from allowing the VirginCasino.com and Tropicana brands to differentiate themselves, the migration was also very strategic. Last year in October, Bally’s Corporation finalized its acquisition of Gamesys. Bally’s acquired Gamesys to continue with its expansion plans in the Online Sports Betting and iGaming market in the country.
With Gamesys technology, Bally’s is now one of the largest omnichannel gaming brands in the country. Plus, Bally’s and Gamesys databases and technology are now Unified, which would have placed Tropicana at a huge disadvantage.
Since Bally’s is one of Tropicana’s biggest competitors and threats, it was in the best interest of VirginCasino.com to cut ties with Tropicana as Bally’s new partner. Bally’s acquired Gamesys for approximately $2.7 billion or £2 billion.
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Bally’s Experienced Steady Growth Since the Tropicana Partnership
Last year in April, Bally’s completed its acquisition of Tropicana Las Vegas, thus helping the brand to realize its plans for expansion in the country. Landing the Las Vegas location has been wonderful for Bally’s expansion plans. The Vegas Strip, is easily one of the most visited locations in Vegas, welcoming more than 40 million punters and guests every year.
This will be significant in enhancing Bally’s customer and player base in Nevada, as well as its position as one of the best iGaming providers in the country. In addition to supporting Bally’s plans for growth and development, Bally has also been working on renovating the Las Vegas Casino and resort property, which will consequently ensure that its financial profile is enhanced even further.
At the start of the year, Bally’s chairman Soo Kim stated that Bally’s was considering myriad options for Tropicana Las Vegas including a total overhaul and demolition of the popular casino. Bally’s Las Vegas will also very likely re-brand to Bally’s. In addition to buying Tropicana Las Vegas, Bally’s now owns 35 acres of land, which many have predicted will be used to lure yet another professional sports franchise to Vegas.
Earlier this year, Bally’s also partnered up with Snipp Interactive to acquire a minority stake of the company. As part of the acquisition, Bally’s will invest approximately $5 million in the brand. As a result of this partnership, Bally’s is now better placed to pursue its strategic objectives surrounding omnichannel integration.
With Snipp’s assistance, Bally’s will now be able to supply its customers all over the country with a seamless customer journey and experience. as a result of this partnership, Bally’s will be given a 3-year license to utilize the SnippLoyalty software platform across its online and brick and mortar casinos in the second quarter of this year.
Just before the end of last year, Bally’s also signed a groundbreaking partnership with the Nashville Predators. The collaboration between Bally’s and the NHL franchise was the first of its kind for Bally’s. It was also the first deal forged in Tennessee between an online gambling operator and a professional sports team.
Owing to this deal, Bally’s has been the official sports wagering partner for the NHL team. Bally’s the Free-to-Play supplier of the Predators. This deal between Bally’s and Predators is expected to last until 2025. Since its partnership, Bally’s has been working on producing a free-to-play game dubbed Smashville Selector, which will be available for Predators Fans on Android, as well as iOS.
To top off this partnership between Bally’s and the Predators, Bally’s recently received approval from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council to debut its online sportsbook in the state. At present, Bally Bet will join close to 11 other operators that have already been approved to operate in Tennesse including FanDuel, Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars, WynnBET, as well as DraftKings.
Final Thoughts
Bally Bet has been expanding steadily since it launched and will likely continue to do so this year. At present, Bally Bet is available in several states including Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, Virginia, and Indiana.
