- Former owner Donald Sun to stay on as chief executive to support transition
- Bally’s to gamify and incorporate interactive content into beach volleyball to drive traffic to own platforms
- Casino operator secures all AVP assets, including trademarks, promoter agreements and membership revenue
Casino entertainment company Bally’s Corporation has announced the acquisition of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), the premier beach volleyball tour in the United States.
The deal secures Bally’s all of the AVP’s assets, including trademarks, promoter agreements and recurring membership revenue, as well as digital photo and video assets, plus all proprietary tournament and league management software.
As well as leveraging the AVP’s existing distribution channels, Bally’s said it also plans to broadcast tour content in the US on the Sinclair-owned, Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks (RSNs) to raise awareness of the competition.
In addition, Bally’s will look to gamify and incorporate interactive content into beach volleyball as a way to drive traffic to its own platforms and promote customer acquisition.
Founded in 1983, the California-based AVP operates a three-tiered development system and is home to Team USA’s beach volleyball Olympians.
The tour suspended operations in 2010 before being bought in 2012 by Donald Sun, who is set to stay on as chief executive to help with the transition.
Sun said the deal represents an opportunity to “develop a strategic roadmap that will grow the sport, expand its footprint and provide new resources”.
Adi Dhandhania, who is senior vice president of strategy and interactive for Bally’s, added: “The AVP is an attractive asset that complements our rapidly expanding US sports betting vision.
“Donald and the entire AVP team have done a tremendous job developing the league and transforming it into what it is today, and we look forward to exploring creative ways to amplify and gamify such a dynamic and high-growth sport, providing beach volleyball fans across the nation with unique and interactive content.”
An official release described the acquisition as another step in Bally’s ‘omni-channel growth and diversification strategy’.
In sport, the company recently agreed a reported US$66 million deal with the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Phoenix Mercury, in what was described as the ‘largest official team sponsorship’ in the history of women’s sports.
Bally’s also has betting partnerships with the likes of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL).
Its acquisition of the AVP comes ahead of the slimmed down 2021 AVP Pro Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, which is taking place from 13th to 15th August. The organisation is hoping to return to a full season from 2022.
