Daily Fantasy Sports
Bally’s Corporation To Acquire Monkey Knife Fight, Fastest Growing Daily Fantasy Sports Site In North America
Bally’s Corporation, a leading U.S. provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Monkey Knife Fight (“MKF”), the award-winning, fastest-growing[1] gaming platform and third-largest daily fantasy sports (“DFS”) operator in North America. The all-stock transaction makes Bally’s just the third sports betting company in the U.S. to have a fantasy sports segment. In 2020, MKF, which offers its loyal users a dynamic and creative slate of daily sports and e-sports contests, was ranked by SponsorUnited as the sixth most-searched and tenth fastest-growing brand in sports and entertainment.
Bally’s acquisition of MKF is the latest step in the Company’s long-term growth and diversification strategy to become the first truly vertically integrated sports betting and iGaming company in the U.S. with a B2B2C business model. Importantly, it complements Bally’s recent media partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group and its pending acquisition of Bet.Works, including its proprietary technology stack.
“With this acquisition, we are pleased to enter into the high-growth DFS market. Monkey Knife Fight is a unique asset that we look forward to incorporating into Bally’s constantly growing omnichannel portfolio of land-based casinos and iGaming platforms,” said George Papanier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally’s Corporation. “As with all of the properties and services that fall under the iconic Bally’s brand, we are committed to providing a best-in-class DFS platform to sports fans around the country.”
With approximately 180,000 registered users and 80,000 depositing players, MKF’s distinctive, user-friendly gaming platform will become an integral component of the “Bally’s Interactive” division, as well as contribute to Bally’s growing player database. MKF will support Bally’s plans to develop a potential sports bettors database in states such as California, Florida and Texas, which are expected to account for 20-25% of U.S. sports betting revenues (according to Wall Street analyst research estimates). It will also enable Bally’s to build a player database in Canada, a market that is expected to authorize sports betting in the near future. In addition, the acquisition will lead to Bally’s developing new and engaging content with MKF for its customers.
Papanier continued, “The MKF acquisition will allow Bally’s to leverage both its current customer database as well as DFS’s collection of depositing players. These assets will also provide Bally’s with a significant advantage in launching its own B2C sports betting operations.”
Additionally, Bally’s intends to combine MKF’s expansive geographic presence, which spans 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, with Sinclair’s significant media footprint, including its portfolio of 21 regional sports networks, to engage sports fans across the U.S by providing unique DFS offerings.
“Since our inception, we have distinguished ourselves from competitors by providing the best experiences for our valued players, forming strategic partnerships with teams, ownership groups and players unions, and acquiring strategic assets to bolster our position in the market,” said Bill Asher, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monkey Knife Fight. “I am immensely proud of all we have accomplished over the past three years at MKF and am confident that the talented Bally’s team has what it takes to continue to grow and develop what is already a great business.”
As part of the acquisition, MKF is set to receive immediately exercisable penny warrants to purchase up to approximately $50 million in Bally’s common shares (subject to adjustment) at closing, and (2) contingent penny warrants to purchase up to approximately $20 million in additional Bally’s common shares on each of the first and second anniversaries of closing, for a possible total of up to approximately $40 million. The contingency relates to MKF’s continued operations in jurisdictions in which it operates at closing. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
Advisors
Jones Day served as legal advisor to Bally’s Corporation. Shearman & Sterling and Stikeman Elliott served as legal advisors, and Canaccord Genuity served as financial advisor, to MKF.
SOURCE Bally’s Corporation; Monkey Knife Fight
SCCG Management, a leading advisory firm in the global gaming industry, announced a strategic partnership with Bettor Together, the first cooperative fantasy sports platform. This collaboration aims to support Bettor Together’s growth and operations by leveraging SCCG’s extensive industry expertise and global gaming network.
Bettor Together transforms fantasy sports by shifting from solo play to a team-based experience. Players join forces with friends to tackle player prop contests, enhancing the excitement and competition. The platform includes innovative features like Odds Boosts, strategic player prop picks, and immersive contests that engage users with real-time leaderboard tracking and thrilling end-game scenarios.
Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are excited to partner with Bettor Together to bring their innovative cooperative fantasy sports platform to a broader audience. Their unique approach to fantasy sports aligns perfectly with our mission to drive growth and maximize opportunities for our partners. We look forward to supporting their journey and helping them achieve new heights in the gaming industry.”
Mark Szandzik, Founder of Bettor Together, shared his excitement: “We are thrilled to kick off our partnership with SCCG. Their industry expertise and expansive network will help us uncover new opportunities and take our innovative platform to the next level. We are excited about the synergies our partnership with SCCG will create, introducing our cooperative fantasy platform to the gaming industry and showing that we are Better Together.”
SCCG will support Bettor Together by developing and executing comprehensive marketing strategies to enhance both B2C and B2B growth. This includes analyzing market trends to identify partnership opportunities, conducting operational reviews to optimize processes, and executing targeted marketing and advertising campaigns to raise awareness within the gaming industry.
PrizePicks, the leading daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced that it has been granted a daily fantasy sports operating license by the state of New Hampshire.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer our skill-based fantasy offering to sports fans throughout the Granite State. We are grateful to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission for their thoughtful collaboration,” Adam Packer, Senior Vice President of Legal & Compliance at PrizePicks, said.
PrizePicks offers a variety of skill-based fantasy game types, including Arena, an innovative peer-to-peer game where players can compete for prizes against each other. Arena pits players into groups, matching their number of entries, selected entry fee, and experience level. Since launching in January, Arena is now live in nine jurisdictions and has surpassed two million lineups built by over 100,000 players.
New Hampshire becomes the 35th operational market for PrizePicks in the U.S. As the leading daily fantasy sports operator continues to launch in new markets, responsible gaming education remains a key focus.
OpticOdds, the premier feed provider for top operators, has struck a new partnership with Dabble as they continue to expand into the United States with its DFS Pick Em product offering. This collaboration will see the sportsbook and DFS operator integrate OpticOdds’ advanced odds API and trading solutions.
The agreement covers multiple sports and OpticOdds will provide Dabble with comprehensive player market odds data for its US product and additional market coverage for its Australian offering.
Dabble’s customers will now be able to enjoy more wagering opportunities, benefiting from real-time updates and alerts. The API and trading screen provide comprehensive odds updates from over 100 sportsbooks, covering best odds, outliers, player markets, reference lines, settlements, injuries, and more. An added benefit of the OddsScreen is the custom-weighted consensus lines, real-time outliers, arbitrage opportunities, and line movement alerts, and historical odds from one location.
OpticOdds continues to lead global odds coverage, catering to a wide range of sports and events including football, basketball, baseball, MMA, boxing, hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, motorsports, esports, wrestling, rugby, lacrosse, cricket, volleyball, and politics from over 125+ sportsbooks.
Ryan Weinstock, Chief Commercial Officer at OpticOdds, commented, “Our products are designed to boost margins and expand coverage for operators. We’re thrilled to see Dabble fully leveraging the power of our API and trading screen to enhance their offerings.”
Jon Robin, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Dabble, added, “Adding OpticOdds’ suite of real-time data tools for sports betting and fantasy into our offering will enable us to build on our growth momentum and provide an enhanced offering for our 700,000 active customers. Having the right tech and trusted partners in place enables us to focus on creating the best player experiences that have social interaction at the heart.”
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