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LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 24: The marquee at Bally's Las Vegas displays a tribute to television host and writer Robin Leach with his signature catchphrase "Champagne wishes and caviar dreams," from the television show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" on August 24, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Leach died earlier in the day in Las Vegas at age 76. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Ethan Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Providence, Rhode Island-based Bally's Corporation announced Tuesday the consummation of a deal that was first reported on January 25th to acquire daily fantasy sports company, Monkey Knife Fight. The move further cements Bally's as a true top-tier US legal sports betting brand and marks just the latest shoe to drop on Bally's ascension into the elite class of providers.

The deal was seen an obvious fit for the betting provider which has recently been on an acquisition spree in their attempt to become the household name for bettors on US soil. The recent take over of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group's media empire and their November acquisition of Bet.Works was just a sign of things to come.

According to a press release, the completion of the $90 million, all-stock Monkey Knife Fight transaction “complements Bally's recent media partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group and its pending acquisition of Bet.Works, including its proprietary technology stack”.

The MKF Value-add

Monkey Knife Fight, which is the third-largest daily fantasy company in the US makes Bally's just the third legal sports betting provider in the country to have a Fantasy Sports wing. The other two brands are the two most successful DFS/betting provider companies competing in the bustling US legal sports betting scene. MKF is an award-winning platform and the fastest-growing DFS provider in America.

MKF allows Bally’s to continue their quest to become the first “truly vertically integrated” online betting provider in the US market and brings with them 180,000 registered users and 80,000 depositing players in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, all of which Bally's hopes to flip to their online sportsbook.

George Papanier, Bally's president and CEO said of the deal “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."

MKF's landmark multiyear partnership agreement with the NFL Players Association which includes licensing, joint marketing and player involvement is also a boon for the Bally's brand. The DFS providers' existing partnerships with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is part of the package.

The Building of the Brand

Bally's had been a middling name in the US legal sports betting industry before their latest barrage of deals aimed at making them a force in the industry. First came their move to buy sports-betting platform Bet.Works in November - an addition that signaled the seriousness of their betting industry ladder-climb.

That was quickly followed by Bally's announcement of an acquisition of the naming rights to 21 regional sports networks under the Sinclair Broadcasting Group umbrella. Those Sinclair stations are in the process of rebranding to the Bally's name - a process that could be completed in the next few weeks.

With Monkey Knife Fight officially a Bally’s wing, the betting company is hoping to use the DFS brand to target states that haven't gone live with their own sports betting platform just yet such as California, Texas and Florida and create a customer database for potential players in those states. “MKF will support our plans to develop a potential sports bettors database in states such as California, Florida and Texas. These states are expected to account for 20-25% of US sports betting revenues,” Bally’s noted in a press release.

With Monkey Knife Fight…

Bally’s becomes “the first truly vertically integrated sports betting and igaming company in the US with a B2B2C business model”, according to a press release.

It seemed only a matter of time before Bally's added another wing to their expanding portfolio and a DFS component was one of the few missing components for the brand. Back in January, George Papanier said: “With this acquisition, we are pleased to enter into the high-growth (daily fantasy sports) 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.”

With that completed, all eyes will be on Bally’s and what their next move will be. They have been aggressive to say the least with little reason to think the spending spree is coming to an end.