Boyd Gaming buys Resorts Digital for undisclosed sum

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Image: Racheal Grazias / Shutterstock.com

Boyd Interactive has bought the Resorts Digital online gambling operation of New Jersey-based Resorts Casino.

The acquisition was finalized on Sept. 1 for an undisclosed price, Resorts President Mark Giannantonio said on Monday, as reported by the Associated Press.

As part of the deal, Boyd Interactive received ownership of the ResortsCasino.com and MoheganSunCasino.com websites along with one unused sports betting skin, meaning that it will now operate multiple online casino brands in the crowded New Jersey iGaming market.

Resorts Digital will continue to operate under the sports betting and internet gambling licenses held by Resorts Casino, Giannantonio said. The two companies will cross-promote.

Over the first eight months of 2024, Resorts Digital has far outstripped the Atlantic City bricks-and-mortar venue, taking more than $573 million in revenue since the start of the year versus the casino’s $109 million. Resorts Digital’s gross operating profit has risen 5.6% year-over-year, while the physical casino’s has plummeted 89% over the last 12 months.

Giannantonio said Resorts is confident that Boyd Interactive’s scale and platform will take Resorts Digital’s “proven success” over the past decade to a new level. Boyd added in a statement that the purchase is consistent with its strategy of “building a profitable regional iGaming business integrated with our existing nationwide portfolio.”

Boyd previously had a finger in the New Jersey casino pie before it sold its half-ownership stake in Atlantic City’s Borgata casino to MGM Resorts International. It already operates Stardust Casino as a standalone online casino product in New Jersey, as well as Pennsylvania. The company said it expects the Resorts acquisition to facilitate further growth in the Garden State.

Resorts Casino has relationships with other operators including DraftKings and ESPN Bet and will continue working with those partners.

Boyd CEO previously addressed PENN acquisition talk

While this is a region-specific M&A move, it’s not the first acquisition Boyd has been linked with in recent months.

Back in July, Boyd CEO Kevin Smith publicly addressed rumors that the company could be a potential buyer if PENN elected to sell up. Boyd had been linked with a $10 billion purchase of PENN, a fee that would make it the industry’s largest merger since Eldorado Resorts bought Caesars Entertainment in 2020 for $17.3 billion.

Smith didn’t exactly flatly deny the talk.

“If you look back over the history of our company, the majority of our growth obviously has come through M&A,” he said at the time. “I think we’ve developed great expertise at it. We know how to buy properties and companies right, and we know how to extract value out of these companies once they’re part of our portfolio.”

Boyd will look to do just that in New Jersey with Resorts and its associated websites.

Boyd reported $967.5 million in revenue in Q2 2024, up from $917 million for the same period last year. The Nevada-based company, which operates more than two dozen properties across the U.S., posted a net income of $139.8 million in Q2 2024, down from $192.5 million in Q2 2023.