Bally’s is now one of the few gambling operators to possess a daily fantasy sports operation.
The US casino operator Bally’s Corporation has completed its acquisition of the daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator Monkey Knife Fight (MKF).
Bally’s is now the third US sports betting operator in the US to possess a DFS segment.
Bally’s acquisition of MKF
In January, the US casino operator announced plans to acquire the DFS operator in a deal worth $90m.
According to the initial announcement, MKF will receive immediately exercisable penny warrants to purchase up to $50m in Bally’s common shares. The DFS provider will also get warrants for up to $20m in additional Bally’s shares on both the first and second anniversaries of the deal being closed.
When the deal was announced earlier this year, Bally’s said that acquisition was part of its strategy to become the first “truly vertically integrated” online gambling company in the US, across both of the B2B and B2C spaces.
George Papanier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally’s Corporation, said, “We are pleased to have closed on our acquisition of Monkey Knife Fight, and are now focused on integrating this unique asset into our Bally’s Interactive division.
“Entering the daily fantasy sports market is an integral component of our omnichannel approach and an important milestone for our Company as we continue our long-term diversification strategy.
“We look forward to providing sports fans across the nation with a dynamic and engaging DFS platform that is commensurate with the premier offerings that define the Bally’s portfolio.”
What is Monkey Knife Fight?
Monkey Knife Fight is the third-largest DFS operator in North America with 200,000 registered users and 90,000 actively depositing players.
The DFS provider is currently active in 37 states and will allow the casino operator to establish a presence in states where sports betting has yet to be legalised.
The cross-sell between DFS and sports betting is one of the key reasons DraftKings and FanDuel emerged as early leaders in the US betting market.
Bally’s still working on expanding US presence
The US casino giant is still working on several other high profile acquisitions in the US space.
In February, Bally’s announced a deal to acquire the free-to-play games provider SportCaller. The deal will see Bally’s acquire SportCaller which supplies trivia, predictions, pay-to-play and custom free-to-play content to a range of media businesses and sportsbook operators around the globe.
Bally’s also announced plans to acquire the sports betting supplier Bet.Works in November 2020.
With the SportCaller acquisition, Bally’s plans to launch its own suite of free-to-play games later this year, which will be supported by Bet.Works’ technology stack.
Elsewhere in the US, Bally’s is one of several gambling entities that have put forward a proposal for the construction of a casino resort in Richmond, Virginia.
Bally’s $650m proposal would see the construction of a 1.6m square foot casino resort with 2,500 slot machines, 90 tables games, 30 poker tables and a high-limit section.
The venue would also feature a 250-room hotel, 13 food and beverage venues, retail stores and a space for conferences and live entertainment.
To help support the proposal the operator has launched a new campaign, “Bally’s for RVA.”
The campaign aims to highlight that the project would create 4,300 construction jobs, 2,000 permanent jobs upon completion and the resort could attract up to 3.7m visitors a year.
