Daily Fantasy Sports

Bally’s Corporation To Acquire Monkey Knife Fight, Fastest Growing Daily Fantasy Sports Site In North America

Published

4 years ago

January 25, 2021

BALLY’S ENTERS INTO MERGER AGREEMENT WITH AFFILIATES OF STANDARD GENERAL L.P.

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.

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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

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Daily Fantasy Sports

PrizePicks Appoints Mike Quigley as Chief Marketing Officer to Drive Brand Growth and Player Engagement

Published

3 weeks ago

February 4, 2025

George Miller

PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced the appointment of Mike Quigley as its new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Reporting directly to PrizePicks Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mike Ybarra, Quigley will be responsible for further building out a best-in-class marketing organization and overseeing brand vision, go-to-market strategy, campaign development and overall marketing efforts across the company.

“Mike Quigley is a renowned marketing and gaming executive with tremendous experience in driving player engagement, launching campaign activations and scaling successful brands,” said Mike Ybarra, CEO of PrizePicks. “His deep expertise in digital marketing, combined with his player-first mindset, makes him the ideal leader to help us further elevate the PrizePicks brand and engage our passionate players.”

Quigley is a seasoned marketing executive with over 30 years of experience in the gaming industry with a focus on user acquisition, community engagement, and player retention. Most recently, Quigley served as the CMO at Niantic, where he led global marketing efforts for the company’s real-world augmented reality games, including the blockbuster mobile game, Pokémon GO. Prior to Niantic, he was Director of Consumer Marketing at Google/YouTube, managing the marketing strategy and execution of campaigns for both original programming and live-stream events including Coachella and SXSW. Quigley also spent 11 years at Electronic Arts where he served as Group VP of Global Marketing for the EA Games Label.

Quigley said, “I’m thrilled to join PrizePicks at such an exciting time. I admire their relentless focus on exceeding player expectations and creating experiences that keep players engaged. The team’s commitment to deliver fun, innovative gameplay to sports fans is what sets PrizePicks apart and I look forward to working together to amplify those experiences for our players.”

As PrizePicks continues to expand to new markets, investment into responsible gaming remains a key focus. PrizePicks is proud to provide resources to help players enjoy our games responsibly.

Daily Fantasy Sports

SCCG Management Announces Strategic Partnership with DFS Platform Bettor

Published

7 months ago

August 7, 2024

Niji Narayan

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.

Compliance Updates

PrizePicks Awarded Operating License in New Hampshire

Published

7 months ago

August 5, 2024

Niji Narayan

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.