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Dover Downs rebrands to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort

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DOVER – Bally’s, the operator of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, announced a rebrand of the property Monday that will now be known as Bally’s Dover Casino Resort.

The gaming destination connected to the separately-owned Dover International Speedway off U.S. Route 13 was acquired by a predecessor to publicly traded Bally’s Corp. in 2019. The hotel and casino date back to 2002, while the operations’ harness racing has occurred on the infield of the raceway since 1969.

The rebrand was anticipated for months, as the company seeks a more uniform identity after expanding and acquiring properties across the country over the past two years, now totaling 14 casinos and about 10,000 employees. It also launched a sports betting app and closed a deal with Sinclair Broadcasting to rebrand its regional Fox Sports Networks as Bally Sports.

George Papanier, president of retail at Bally’s, told shareholders in September that the company was aiming to rebrand nearly all of its properties under the Bally’s name within a year.

The exterior and interior signage of the Dover hotel and casino will be changed in December, along with other branded changes to dice, cards and chips as well as new table game layouts, Bally’s reported. It’s planning a grand reopening in the first quarter of 2022.

Dover Downs runs one of the few sportsbooks in Delaware, making it a draw for gamblers, especially from Kent and Sussex counties. | PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

“We are proud to bring the Bally’s brand to Dover, it’s an exciting time for our customers and team members. I’d like to thank the State of Delaware for its collaboration throughout this process, and I’d also like to recognize our team members for their contributions to this significant endeavor,” Papanier said in a statement announcing the new Dover name.

Along with the rebrand in Dover is the introduction of the new Bally Rewards, a four-tiered card program, where members earn rewards, tier status, exclusive offers, gift giveaways, casino multipliers, and more. Existing casino members can exchange their Capital Club Card for the new Bally Rewards Card while entering a weekly raffle for cash prizes. A $1 million cash and prize giveaway will also promote the new brand on Jan. 1.

While the Bally’s brand will now be a more present part of the operation, it no longer technically owns the property. In June, it sold the land and buildings to publicly-traded real estate investment trust to Gaming and Leisure Properties for $144 million, and leased them back for $12 million per year.

The end of the Dover Downs brand is the latest change for the property, which earlier this month saw Dover International Speedway owner Dover Motorsports reach a sale agreement with Speedway Motorsports, one of the sport’s two biggest track owners and operators. That sale would end the Rollins family association with the property that dates back decades.

Delaware’s two largest casinos will soon be led by large corporate interests after Delaware Park Casino & Racetrack in Stanton also reached a sale agreement with Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group and a newly formed subsidiary of Rubico Gaming LLC, run by experienced gaming investor Thomas Benninger.

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