• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Monkey Knife Fight ‘Aggressively Open For Business’ As it Builds Platform

  • An upstart daily fantasy sports operator, Monkey Knife Fight signed partnerships with the Padres, Brewers, and a PGA golfer the past three months.
  • Before the coronavirus shutdown, Monkey Knife Fight had 400% year-over-year user base growth.
Padres Tatis
Photo Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

While many companies tightened their budgets during the coronavirus shutdowns, daily fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight was eager to get in front of new users.

The growing fantasy sports site signed multiple deals in the past several months, including with the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, PGA Tour golfer Charley Hoffman, and esports organization Enthusiast Gaming. 

According to the company’s executives, there are more sports team partnerships in the works as well. The partnerships are being strategically placed in states where sports betting isn’t yet legal, but have significant potential, like California and Wisconsin. Monkey Knife Fight is live in 31 states.

“Our goal is to focus in those areas that have passionate fan bases and great franchises and lead us to build brand and market position,” Monkey Knife Fight President Nic Sulsky said.

Even with live sports all but stopped, the company was “aggressively open for business” in terms of new deals, Monkey Knife Fight owner and CEO Bill Asher said. That aggressiveness was born out of a desire to ensure it was still acquiring new customers while positioning itself for a potential public offering.

“Instead of letting people go, we went out and started to interview and hire and got a couple great programmers who were available,” Asher said. “Rather than hold back, this was the perfect time to reach out to all the people who had very little to do. We created relationships we never could have gotten otherwise.” 

Monkey Knife Fight, which was launched by Asher and Sulsky in 2018, had 400% year-over-year growth before the pandemic shut down sports in March. The company now has more than 100,000 users in its database. Asher is the sole owner of the company.

Asher is bullish about the company as he watches competitors grow with their sports betting components – including DraftKings, which saw its shares more than double in value in May.

“If you have a fantasy sports product, the assumption is over the next five years, pretty much all states will offer some kind of sports gambling, and that’s tens of billions of dollars when it’s easy and on your phone,” he said. “Not every gambler plays fantasy sports, but most fantasy sports players will switch over and do both. So if in the next couple of years we can acquire customers and build brand loyalty, we will have hundreds of thousands who play Monkey Knife Fight.”

READ MORE: Q&A: PBA CEO Colie Edison On What To Expect From Bowling’s Return

Monkey Knife Fight does not disclose revenue figures, Asher said.

Asher said daily fantasy sports generally cater to professionals who dedicate their time to studying the ins and outs of the games and craft detailed rosters. Monkey Knife Fight provides users a quick proposition: Will LeBron James score more or less than 26 points?; will Anthony Davis have more or less than 10 rebounds?. 

The simplicity of the games and the user experience is the difference-maker for the company, Asher said. He said it also makes customer acquisition cheaper, allowing them to recoup the investment in a few months.

That idea fits a recent survey by HPL Digital Sport, which suggests sports bettors are starting to scrutinize the operators they use for their games.

“There’s a sea of sameness right now,” HPL Digital Sport CEO Ed Moed said. “Brand appeal will be very important, from the experience and how they look at the brand.”

READ MORE: DraftKings Exploring Acquisition Of Bleacher Report From Turner Sports

The Monkey Knife Fight brand is something Sulsky and Asher are excited about. The name came after a night of tequila, but Sulsky said they hope to become a culturally relevant brand outside the gaming with cool logos and swag.

As sports start to come back this month, Asher said the rest of the year would be in the “sweet spot” for fantasy sports players with hockey, basketball, football, and baseball all going potentially at the same time.

Asher pointed to a survey of its users that found 76% are planning on playing fantasy golf props when the sport comes back, a 181% growth of the 27% of respondents who had previously played a golf contest.

“That’s unbelievable, that shows the appetite for daily fantasy sports when major sports come back,” Asher said. “We’re seeing that user anticipation for when golf comes back, and that’s a clear indication that when all the sports come back, it’ll be crazy explosive growth.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Feb 7, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after his basket against the St. John's Red Storm in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

After Decade Apart, ESPN and Big East Rekindle Media Rights Relationship

After a decade-plus apart, the network will stream hundreds of conference events.
Sports are shown on TVs behind a bar as guests enjoy the grand opening of DraftKings Sports & Social in Ohio.

California Has Declared Daily Fantasy Sports Are Illegal. Now What?

The opinion might spark a broader DFS conversation in the state.

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) passes the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.

California AG Says Daily Fantasy Sports Are Illegal

The AG rejected arguments that DFS are games of skill, not chance.

Featured Today

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 4, 2025

3,000 Hot Dogs, $20K in Prizes: Behind the Nathan’s Eating Contest

Nathan’s serves up thousands of hot dogs and $20,000 in prize money.
July 3, 2025

Geoffrey Esper Can’t Catch a Break at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

“Hot dogs is not one of my favorite competitions of the year.”
June 29, 2025

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.
Mar 15, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) celebrates in the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Little Caesars Arena.
June 30, 2025

Malik Beasley Is Latest Betting-Related Headache for NBA

It’s the third NBA betting scandal in the last year-and-a-half.
Jun 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) during the third quarter during game six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
July 1, 2025

‘Existential Threat’: Underdog Sports Sues to Stop AG’s Fantasy Sports Opinion

The California AG is expected to release his opinion by Thursday.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Quincy Taylor
June 17, 2025

Several Americans Banned in British Basketball Game-Fixing Scandal

Five former Surrey Scorchers players were hit with lengthy gambling suspensions.
Mar 30, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; LSU Lady Tigers guard Flau'Jae Johnson (4) shoots against UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) during the second half of a Elite 8 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena.
June 17, 2025

Louisiana Sports Betting Set to Aid LSU and Other State Schools

Louisiana lawmakers have been creative in finding state money for NIL.
A view of the FanDuel Sportsbook betting area at Belterra Park Cincinnati.
exclusive
June 13, 2025

FanDuel, Kalshi Have Discussed a Deal

Could FanDuel take an equity stake in Kalshi?
Fanduel
June 10, 2025

FanDuel, DraftKings Add Illinois Transaction Fee in Response to New Tax

FanDuel will charge 50 cents per bet starting Sept. 1.