Bally's updates Officials attribute Q4 declines and flat full-year results to "Bally's 2.0."

 Despite posting year-on-year reductions in Q4 and flat performance for 2024 overall, Bally's Corporation remains confident on 2025 and beyond as it undergoes its transformation into Bally's 2.0.
 Play Bally's Q1
 Wednesday, March 5th, was Bally's earnings release day. The company reported a 5% year-over-year decline in group revenue to $580.4 million (£450 million/€537.9 million).  The casino and resort category, which accounted for the majority, had a 5% decline to $324.4 million.

 The international interactive segment saw a 9% year-over-year decline in revenue to $214.5 million, even though the UK market saw an 11% increase.  With $41.5 million, a 24% gain from the previous year, its smallest subsidiary, North American interactive, was the only one to report a year-over-year growth.

 Total revenue was $2.45 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31st, while casino revenue was $1.36 billion, both of which were flat year over year.  They were both within $1.5 million of the totals for 2023.  At $909.5 million, international interactive fell 6.5%, while at $177.8 million, North American interactive increased by 58%.

 For the second consecutive quarter, the business has chosen not to address analysts by cancelling its earnings call, which was scheduled for Wednesday.

 Exciting times ahead for Bally's in 2024!
 The fourth quarter and annual figures for Bally's are very similar to the third quarter in that the company's numbers remained pretty stable despite several changes.  The acquisition of Bally by Soo Kim's Standard General (SG), a hedge fund, in July was probably the most significant.

 The acquisition included SG's other company, Queen Casino and Entertainment, which was incorporated into the new entity.  More money should start rolling in in 2025 and beyond thanks to the expanded casino portfolio.

 "The four complementary Queen casinos are now poised to continue their rapid growth as they benefit from inclusion in a broader domestic gaming portfolio. Bally's benefits from the expansion and diversification of our geographic profile," CEO Robeson Reeves said in a statement, reflecting the now completed strategic transactions.

 While Bally did not include the Queen locations' earnings in their financials, Reeves stated that they "combined to generate fourth quarter revenue of $57.6 million and adjusted EBITDAR of $15.2 million".  Reeves characterised the "new" Bally's 2.0 as a "dynamic global land-based and online casino operator with attractive growth pipelines in US gaming."

 Hope for upcoming endeavours, concerns about current ones
 Projects in Chicago and Sin City were brought up once more by the corporation.  It mentioned that the permanent Chicago casino's development has begun following its December approval of the master plan.  Conflicts with city water pipelines were the main reason for the design's rejection.  The only information provided regarding Las Vegas was that the Tropicana had been demolished.

 However, challenges persist in relation to the present functioning of the casino.  According to Reeves, the segment's adjusted EBITDAR was $80.9 million, which is a decrease of almost 14% year over year.  The temporary Chicago casino's results "remain below our expectations," he said.  The ongoing bridge work in Lincoln, Rhode Island is causing significant delays to its casino, and the high staff turnover at its Atlantic City site is making matters worse.  Additionally, all three matters were brought up in Q3.

 Performance in our C&R segment reflects our ongoing work to unify our regional gaming portfolio, which will accelerate now that the four Queen assets have been added to our business. We also acknowledge that there are certain portions of our geographic reach that are relatively weak, as previously noted, according to President George Papanier's statement.

 Americas and the United Kingdom had the best digital results.
 Digital operations continued to perform well in the United Kingdom and North America, according to the most recent data.

 With "strong player retention and uplifts from revenue optimisation initiatives" to thank, Reeves explained the 11% increase for UK interactive.  Additionally, Bally's shifted its revenue stream to licencing in Asia after selling off its interactive business there last quarter.  Overall, the worldwide interactive segment's adjusted EBITDAR was $81.6 million, down 12% year over year.

 "International Interactive revenue grew 12.9% versus the prior year quarter," Reeves added, "excluding revenue recognised from divested markets and licensing revenue recognised."

 Despite a $12.3 million adjusted EBITDAR loss, North American revenue jumped 24%.  During the quarter, Bally's introduced two new products that are expected to contribute to future success: the Monopoly Casino igaming app in New Jersey and the Bally Bet online sportsbook in Tennessee.

 "Our igaming and sports product offerings continue to gain strong customer support," Reeves said, adding that the company expects this division to have great long-term performance.

 The topic of Australia remains significant
 Whether or not Bally's is interested in Star Entertainment, an Australian company, remains an open topic going ahead.  Officials from Bally travelled to meet with Star and examine its three casinos, according to the Australian Financial Review, which first reported the story on February 21.

 Star is losing money at an alarming rate and is about to go bankrupt.  Since the firm did not file its 1H25 results on time, trading in its shares has been halted.  Reports indicate that the operator is under scrutiny by a number of corporations, including private equity behemoth Blackstone and gaming company Bally's.

 In an interview with Inside Asian Gaming on February 28th, chairman Soo Kim corroborated the AFR claims and stated that the firm is constantly interested in troubled assets, referring to Bally's employees as "corporate firefighters.".