Bally’s continued to receive licensing revenue from the Asian interactive business it sold to management in late 2024 and reported $23 million in licensing revenue during 2025. That sum was about 4.6% of Bally’s consensus EBITDA for the year, raising questions about the residual exposure as the company pursues control of UK operator Evoke.
NEXT.io reported that Bally’s entered into an agreement dated Oct. 31, 2024, to sell its interactive business in Asia and certain other international markets to a company formed by the unit’s management. The division included Vera&John, CasinoSecret and Yuugado.
Bally’s placed certain intellectual property in a trust and licensed it to the buyer for five years, subject to extension, and agreed to provide transition services. The company said its financial statements would subsequently reflect licensing and royalty revenue from the buyer, which it expected to be lower than the previous accounting treatment but to carry higher margins.
The buyer acquired the business in exchange for a €30 million note. Bally’s recognised a $27.8 million loss on the sale and classified much of the debt as unrecoverable. It also bought penny warrants giving it a 19.99% fully diluted equity interest in the business.
Bally’s said it would have no role in the carved-out operation’s management, operations or governance. Its SEC filing said the transaction was intended to concentrate capital and resources on North American and European operations, and was not expected to have a material effect on adjusted EBITDA or free cash flow.
The continuing licensing income was tied to Japan’s online gambling black market. Japanese law was updated in September 2025 to explicitly prohibit the provision of online casino services to Japanese citizens, following earlier government statements that gambling from Japan could constitute a Penal Code offence even if an operator was overseas. Enforcement rose to 279 arrests between 2022 and 2024, nearly a 400% increase, with most involving remote gambling offences.
An investigation identified Silverspin AB, a Swedish-registered and Malta-based business, as the operating entity before and after the sale. The business targeted Japan through Curaçao-licensed Breckenridge Curacao B.V., and three directors across North South West Limited and UKNSW Ltd had worked for Bally’s international interactive business. Involvement in a lawful B2B structure is not itself evidence of wrongdoing.
The issue could matter to the acquisition of Evoke, whose brands include William Hill and Gamesys. As we reported in August, Evoke shareholders approved Bally’s Intralot’s £243.1 million all-share takeover. The Gambling Commission would need to approve the associated licence transfer, and Bally’s suitability could become an issue if the regulator judged its conduct to be unacceptable.
Under Sections 102 and 103 of the Gambling Act 2005, the Commission requires licensed companies to report a new controller as a key event as soon as reasonably practicable, and within five working days at the latest. A licensee must then surrender its licence or apply within five weeks for it to remain effective; an application may also be submitted in advance of an expected change of control. The regulator can seek further information, including evidence of acquisition funding and planned ongoing investment, according to risk.
Concerns about Japan predated the divestment. In April 2024, K&F Growth Capital urged Bally’s shareholders to reject Standard General’s takeover proposal and argued that continuing involvement in Japan created risks to the company’s capital access. It called for a sale or structured separation of the international interactive business, saying a US public company should not supply gaming equipment and operations to Japan under the country’s regulatory framework.
