Gambling in the USA

Gaming and Leisure Properties to Acquire Real Property Assets of Bally’s Two Rhode Island Assets for $1.0 Billion

Published

3 years ago

June 30, 2022

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. announced that it has entered into a binding term sheet with Bally’s Corporation to acquire the real property assets of Bally’s two Rhode Island casino properties – Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort (Lincoln) and Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel – subject to customary regulatory approvals with Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort also subject to lender consent. Pursuant to the terms of the transaction, Bally’s will immediately lease back both properties and continue to own, control, and manage all the gaming operations of the facilities on an uninterrupted basis. Total consideration for the acquisition is $1.0 billion and GLPI expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings upon closing in late 2022. GLPI intends to fund the transaction through a mix of debt, equity, and OP units.

Both properties are expected to be added to the existing Bally’s Master Lease (the Master Lease) between GLPI and Bally’s, with incremental rent of $76.3 million. The Master Lease has an initial term of 15 years (with 14 years remaining) followed by four five-year renewals at the tenant’s option. Normalized rent coverage on the Master Lease – which includes Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, Bally’s Evansville Casino & Hotel, Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel and Bally’s Black Hawk Casinos – is expected to be 2.0x in the first calendar year following the completion of the acquisition of the real property assets of Bally’s Rhode Island properties.

Peter Carlino, Chairman and CEO of GLPI, said, “GLPI is delighted to extend our relationship with Bally’s that brings to the table a high-growth track record through their ownership of properties in attractive regional gaming markets. Bally’s Rhode Island assets have delivered exceptionally strong performance over their lifetime thanks to their attractive location near Providence while planned capital investments at Lincoln offer healthy upside potential. Bally’s properties are currently the only two gaming facilities in Rhode Island and the transaction again diversifies our portfolio as the state becomes our 18th U.S. jurisdiction. Importantly, this transaction comes with a conservative rent and Master Lease structure that offers GLPI material downside protection while offering our Company with an opportunity for additional long-term growth. We thank Bally’s for their trust in GLPI and look forward to fostering this growing relationship going forward.”

In connection with GLPI’s commitment to consummate the Bally’s acquisitions, it also agreed to pre-fund, at Bally’s election, a deposit of up to $200.0 million, which will be credited or repaid to GLPI at the earlier of closing and December 31, 2023, in either case along with a $9.0 million transaction fee payable at closing.

If all third-party consents and approvals for the acquisition of Lincoln are not timely received, then GLPI will instead acquire the real property assets of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi (Biloxi) in Mississippi along with Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel, for total rent of $48.5 million, at the same combined 7.6% capitalization rate with total payment of $635 million. In that event, GLPI will also have the option, subject to receipt of required consents, to acquire the real property assets of Lincoln prior to December 31, 2024 for a purchase price of $771 million and additional rent of $58.8 million.

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Gambling in the USA

NYC Mayoral Front-runner Zohran Mamdani Says He Won’t Oppose Casino Development

Published

12 hours ago

August 22, 2025

Niji Narayan

As a state lawmaker, Zohran Mamdani generally opposed plans to open full-scale casinos in New York City. In June, when he walked past a billboard showing betting markets for the city mayor’s race, he even quipped that “gambling is haram,” an Arabic word meaning forbidden.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Mamdani said that he did not intend to use his newfound political clout as the Democratic mayoral nominee and the race’s front-runner to try to stop the arrival of casinos that are widely considered a fait accompli.

Speaking alongside the leader of a union pushing the gambling expansion, Mr. Mamdani told reporters that while he still had doubts about the casinos backed by corporate giants, he respected the views of state voters who had approved the downstate gambling expansion more than a decade ago.

Gambling in the USA

Better Business Bureau Reports Increase in Online Gambling Complaints

Published

12 hours ago

August 22, 2025

Niji Narayan

According to research from Better Business Bureau (BBB), the illegal online gambling market is nearly four times bigger than the legal online gambling industry; $402 billion to $103 billion (estimates from Researchandmarkets.com and the American Gaming Association, respectively).

The BBB says it has received almost 200 scam reports and more than 10,000 business complaints related to online gambling and gaming since 2022. Some scam reports involved theft, while complaints showed a pattern of unclear terms and consumer misunderstandings. In some cases, consumers lost tens of thousands of dollars.

Here are some common questions with answers from the BBB regarding online gambling:

What red flags should I look out for if using gambling or gaming services?

Big promises around payouts and tempting ads without details are common. Many people aren’t aware the people they are dealing with are in countries overseas. People should also be leery of sweepstakes-style games, payment through cryptocurrency and typos in names.

How can I avoid issues with gambling or gaming companies?

Read your state and provincial laws. There are many different laws for online gambling, depending on where you live.

Check for proper licensure. Even if your state allows gambling, it may have a limited list of allowed websites. Check with your state’s gaming agency to see who is licensed.

Read the fine print. The reality of how winning and withdrawal works may be different than your first impression on a website. Check out the details of a specific service and fully understand how they work before sending them any money.

Even legitimate websites may freeze winnings. There are many reasons why a casino or sportsbook might freeze winnings, even if the money is rightfully yours. Know what actions to take if your account is frozen.

Visit BBB.org to check out a business or register a complaint and BBB.org/ScamTracker to report a scam.

Gambling in the USA

Scientific Games Wins Three 2025 International Business Awards for Supply Chain Sustainability and Technology Innovation

Published

1 day ago

August 21, 2025

Peter Tolan

OpenSports: Delivering our Technology Vision

Global Lottery Technology Supplier Wins Sustainable Supply Chain Gold Award for National Logistics Centre in UK Serving The National Lottery

Scientific Games has been honored with three prestigious accolades in the 2025 International Business Awards, recognizing the company’s leadership in supply chain sustainability and cutting-edge lottery technology solutions.

The global lottery company earned the Gold Award for Sustainable Supply Chain for its National Logistics Centre in Warrington, UK serving The National Lottery’s vast network of 40,000+ retailers as a partner to Allwyn UK. Opened in February 2024 to support Allwyn on its journey of building a net zero National Lottery, the 92,000-square-foot facility integrates advanced, technology-driven sustainability practices, including AI-powered demand forecasting and inventory management technology, dynamic routing to minimize emissions, fully electric internal transport and zero-waste operations.

Scientific Games also received two Bronze Award recognitions in the 2025 International Business Awards:

Achievement in Product Innovation for SCiQ, Scientific Games’ cutting-edge ecosystem that is transforming the way instant games are sold and managed. SCiQ delivers advanced inventory control, strengthened security and real-time sales data, providing retailers, lotteries and players with a smarter, more secure instant game experience.
Emerging Technology Solution for PlayCentral Powered by SCiQ, which integrates the company’s groundbreaking SCiQ retail ecosystem into PlayCentral HD self-service vending machines, delivering unmatched inventory control, enhanced game security and operational efficiency.

“These honors reflect the dedication of our global teams to delivering both environmental leadership and unmatched retail innovation for our lottery partners,” said Pat McHugh, CEO of Scientific Games. “From transforming the sustainability of our supply chain in partnership with Allwyn in the UK to advancing the future of instant game retailing worldwide, we’re committed to creating positive impact for our customers, players and the communities they serve.”

More than 3,600 nominations from organizations in over 60 nations were evaluated by more than 300 professionals worldwide in this year’s IBAs.

Earlier this year, Scientific Games received two Gold Annual American Business Awards for SCiQ and PlayCentral Powered by SCiQ, in the Operations Management Solutions and Emerging Technology categories, respectively.

With operations on five continents, Scientific Games provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 150 lotteries in 50 countries worldwide.