Posted on: June 4, 2024, 12:25h.
Last updated on: June 4, 2024, 12:29h.
The Bally’s Corporation this week launched its free-to-play social casino platform called Bally Play.
Developed with Ruby Seven Studios, an interactive social gaming company headquartered in India but with a US office in Reno, Bally Play offers an array of digital slot machines, table games, keno, video poker, and bingo. The social casino is available on the web at BallyPlay.com and via mobile through iOS and Android apps.
As part of our growth strategy, we have been seeking to complement our brick-and-mortar and interactive gaming offerings with a social casino,” explained Sina Miri, chief product officer of Bally’s Corporation.
Bally Play debuted with over 100 interactive slot titles, 50 versions of video poker, and blackjack and roulette table games. The Ruby Seven Studios social casino includes games developed by several leading manufacturers, including IGT, Everi, Aruze, and Konami.
Driving Customer Growth
Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corporation owns and/or operates 16 commercial brick-and-mortar casinos in nine states. The company’s online gaming unit, Bally’s Interactive, is licensed for real-money online gambling in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Bally’s was recently dealt a series of credit downgrades as analysts at Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings raised concerns that the organization could be overleveraged.
Bally’s continues to struggle to secure the $800 million in financing it needs to build its $1.1 billion integrated resort casino in downtown Chicago at the Freedom Center. Bally’s is also pursuing new casino developments in Pennsylvania, Missouri, and New York.
Launching a social casino, Bally’s reps believe, will help the company foster new customers.
Working with Ruby Seven Studios has allowed us to create a unique, best-in-class social casino experience for our existing players and can help us attract new players,” Miri explained.
While Bally Play is initially free to play, Bally’s is expected to generate revenue from the product. New players on the Bally Play platform are afforded an initial allotment of 50K coins. The social casino additionally provides coin bonuses as players reach new levels that open up more slot and table game titles. Players also receive free coins based on their overall time spent and frequency of play.
If a player manages to lose all of their free coins, Bally Play allows users to purchase gameplay tokens. The platform is currently running a coin special where players can obtain two million coins for $9.99.
Marketing Tool
Bally Play provides Bally’s with valuable insights into what games are resonating and will help the company with its marketing initiatives.
In the Bally Play disclosures, consumers are told that by using the app, they consent to having their data tracked, collected, and linked to their identity. That information could be used by Bally’s to market to those players to become real money gamblers at its casinos or online gaming platforms where iGaming is permitted.
Many other major casino operators also run social gaming websites and apps. Along with Bally’s, Hard Rock recently formed a social gaming division called Hard Rock Games. The business unit was created after Hard Rock acquired WGames, a mobile gaming company that specialized in free-to-play titles.