The New York Yankees added another sportsbook partner this week in Bally Bet.
During Monday night’s game at Yankee Stadium, advertising featuring Bally Bet and DFS acquisition Monkey Knife Fight was seen on the rotating LED panels below the upper deck.
Yankees senior VP of partnerships Michael Tusiani politely declined comment, though an industry source told LSR he was persistent in getting the latest NY sports betting deal done.
Tusiani said in a news release announcing the agreement: “We hope that their branding in Yankee Stadium along with their in-stadium customer engagement will greatly strengthen Bally’s overall gaming presence in New York.”
Yankees increase sports betting footprint in NY
Bally Bet NY did not launch in the Empire State until July 7, nearly six months to the day after legal online sports betting went live in NY. The operator was comfortable with that, given that it was updating its new 2.0 app technology.
Bally Bet executives said during previous earnings calls that the company planned to take a conservative approach with its promotional and marketing spend in NY given the state’s 51% tax rate.
“This is a great partnership that will give Bally Bet and our other Bally’s Interactive brands terrific visibility in New York,” Bally’s Interactive COO Add Dhandhania said in the release. “The Yankees’ history as a franchise and their popularity as a global brand speaks for itself.”
Bombers big on betting beyond Bally Bet
The Yankees, under the direction of president Randy Levine, remain all-in on sports betting, also cutting non-exclusive partnership deals with FanDuel, DraftKings and bet365.
The Bronx Bombers have a DraftKings Sportsbook Lounge for Legends Suite ticket holders but it cannot become a retail sportsbook unless a bill to include kiosks passes. The kiosks bill did not advance during last year’s legislative session.
The Yankees supported the bid of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Bally’s during the original sportsbook license bidding process. YES Network is partially owned by Sinclair, which also has the Bally Sports RSNs.
Pick-N-Play live on YES app keeping fans engaged
In what is presumably a precursor to single-screen, live in-game betting, YES Network has a free Pick-N-Play prediction game on its app via its partnership with SimpleBet.
The app went live on May 12. According to YES, Pick-N-Play live users place on average more than 50 actions each Yankees’ game (through July 11.) Month-over-month total actions placed are up 81% from June 12-July 12, as opposed to May 12-June 12.
Overall, average daily active YES app users increased 6% since Pick-N-Play launch.
