Daily Fantasy · dfs
Monkey Knife Fight Review: Why It Shut Down (2026)
By Odds Reference Published July 19, 2026 Editorial Policy
Last Updated: July 2026
Monkey Knife Fight was a daily fantasy sports prop platform that shut down on February 28, 2023, roughly two years after Bally’s Corporation acquired it for $90 million. It no longer accepts deposits, entries, or new users — this page exists as a historical reference for anyone still searching for it.
Key Takeaways
- Monkey Knife Fight (MKF) launched in 2018 as a house-banked DFS prop platform and grew into the third-largest DFS operator in North America by user volume before its acquisition.
- Bally’s Corporation acquired MKF for approximately $90 million in a deal that closed in February 2021.
- Bally’s shut down MKF entirely on February 28, 2023, citing steep losses in its North American interactive division and a roughly 36% revenue decline at MKF in 2022.
- MKF is not affiliated with any operating platform today. Former users looking for a similar over/under prop format have largely moved to PrizePicks or Underdog Fantasy.
- This profile is for historical and research purposes only — there is no live account registration, deposit, or affiliate link associated with Monkey Knife Fight on this page.
Affiliate disclosure: OddsReference may earn a commission if you sign up through active partner links on this page (PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy). Monkey Knife Fight itself is defunct and has no affiliate relationship with OddsReference. This does not affect our analysis. All data is independently verified.
What Was Monkey Knife Fight?
Monkey Knife Fight was a house-banked, prop-only daily fantasy sports platform founded in 2018 by Bill Asher. Instead of drafting a roster against other players, users picked over/under outcomes on individual player props — the same format PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy now run at national scale. Bally’s Corporation shut the platform down in February 2023.
That house-banked structure — competing against MKF’s posted lines rather than against other entrants — is what made MKF an early precursor to today’s pick’em-style DFS category, ahead of PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy’s national scale-up.
MKF’s signature contest types were More or Less (pick whether a player’s stat lands over or under a posted line), Rapid Fire (head-to-head player comparisons, such as which of two MLB hitters records more hits), and Touchdown Dance (NFL-specific touchdown prop contests). Payouts scaled with the number of correct picks, with some multi-pick entries advertised up to 100x on paper, though realistic payouts on standard entries were far lower. The format covered NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and esports.
At its peak, MKF was widely cited as the third-largest DFS operator in North America by handle, behind only DraftKings and FanDuel’s classic DFS products. That scale is what made the company an acquisition target.
Historical Snapshot: How MKF Rated Before Shutdown
MKF’s product was middling but functional — average payouts, narrower sport coverage than today’s leaders, and a business-stability score that ultimately proved fatal regardless of line quality.
The table below reflects our retrospective assessment of Monkey Knife Fight as it operated in 2021-2022, before its closure. It is provided for historical context only — none of these scores reflect a currently usable product.
| Category | Score (1-5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Payout Structure | 3.0 | Advertised high multipliers on some entries; standard props paid modestly |
| Sports Coverage | 3.0 | NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, esports — narrower than PrizePicks’ current menu |
| State Availability | 2.5 | Never reached the ~30+ state footprint of today’s top pick’em apps |
| App Experience | 3.0 | Functional but visibly under-resourced relative to competitors |
| Line Quality | 3.0 | Lines were softer in some sports, tighter in others; inconsistent |
| Business Stability | 1.0 | Shut down entirely 24 months post-acquisition |
| Overall (historical) | 2.6 | Defunct as of February 2023 — not a usable platform today |
The business stability score is the one that matters most in hindsight. A DFS platform’s odds and app polish are irrelevant if the company cannot survive to pay out long-term users, and MKF’s closure is a useful case study for evaluating the durability of any DFS operator before depositing.
Why Did Bally’s Acquire Monkey Knife Fight?
Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY) acquired Monkey Knife Fight to buy an established DFS user base and prop-betting technology rather than build one from scratch. The casino operator announced the deal in late 2020 and completed it in February 2021 for approximately $90 million in cash and stock, per contemporaneous industry coverage of the deal, as operators nationwide raced to build out digital sports betting footprints.
The logic at the time was straightforward: Bally’s had a retail casino footprint but limited digital brand recognition, and MKF gave it an established DFS user base and prop-betting technology to build around. The acquisition came during a period of intense capital deployment across the sports betting industry, as operators raced to acquire market share ahead of anticipated state-by-state legalization.
Why Did Monkey Knife Fight Shut Down?
Bally’s shut down all Monkey Knife Fight operations on February 28, 2023 — just over two years after completing the acquisition. The company cited unsustainable losses across its North American interactive division, which reported steep net losses in 2022 amid a broader pullback in DFS and sports betting marketing spend industrywide. MKF’s own revenue reportedly declined roughly 36% in 2022, according to trade press coverage of Bally’s financial disclosures.
Reporting from Legal Sports Report and SBC Americas at the time indicated that Bally’s explored a sale of the MKF business before ultimately deciding the platform’s burn rate made continued operation, or a sale, impractical. The shutdown was part of a broader restructuring of Bally’s digital strategy rather than a regulatory enforcement action against MKF specifically — MKF was not banned by any state regulator; it was closed by its own parent company for business reasons.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| MKF founded (Bill Asher) | 2018 |
| Bally’s acquisition announced | Late 2020 |
| Acquisition completed (~$90M) | February 2021 |
| MKF revenue declines ~36% year-over-year | 2022 |
| Bally’s shuts down MKF entirely | February 28, 2023 |
This timeline is a reminder that a platform’s brand recognition and acquisition price tag are not reliable indicators of long-term survival. See our DFS strategy guide for a framework on evaluating platform durability, not just line quality, before committing bankroll to any DFS operator.
Is Monkey Knife Fight Legal to Use Today?
The legality question is moot because the product no longer exists. Before its 2023 shutdown, MKF operated under the same state-by-state daily fantasy sports framework as other DFS platforms, generally requiring users to be 18+ (21+ in a handful of states) and physically located in a state where DFS was permitted. It never reached the ~30+ state footprint that PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy maintain today. If you see a website, app store listing, or promotional offer referencing Monkey Knife Fight as active in 2026, treat it as stale or fraudulent — verify any DFS platform’s current operating status against its own official site before depositing funds. Last verified: July 2026.
Where Did Monkey Knife Fight Users Go?
Most of MKF’s user base migrated to the pick’em-style DFS platforms that now dominate the category — a format MKF helped popularize before PrizePicks and Underdog scaled it nationally.
| Platform | Format Overlap with MKF | Current Status (July 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| PrizePicks | Closest match — over/under prop picks, similar multiplier structure | Active, largest pick’em platform by users |
| Underdog Fantasy | Pick’em props plus Best Ball, broader format variety | Active, 30+ state footprint |
| DraftKings Pick6 | Variable-multiplier prop picks under the DraftKings brand | Active |
| ThriveFantasy | Player prop pick’em, smaller and NY-based | Defunct — see our ThriveFantasy review |
If you’re evaluating where to move your DFS activity, PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy are the two platforms with the closest format overlap to MKF’s core product and the largest current user bases. Run any prop line you’re considering through the expected value calculator before entering. Separately, the Odds Reference dashboard tracks live prediction-market pricing on Polymarket, Kalshi, and Metaculus for readers who also want event-contract context alongside their DFS activity — note this is prediction-market data, not a source of DFS player-prop lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Monkey Knife Fight still operating?
No. Monkey Knife Fight shut down all operations on February 28, 2023. Bally’s Corporation, which acquired MKF for $90 million in early 2021, closed the platform after North American interactive losses made continued investment unsustainable. Any site or app still referencing Monkey Knife Fight as active is out of date. Last verified: July 2026.
What happened to Monkey Knife Fight accounts and balances?
Bally’s directed users to withdraw remaining balances before the February 2023 shutdown window closed. Contemporaneous reporting from Legal Sports Report and SBC Americas covered the closure process; Odds Reference has not independently verified individual payout outcomes and recommends contacting Bally’s customer support directly for any unresolved account history.
Who owned Monkey Knife Fight?
Monkey Knife Fight was founded in 2018 by Bill Asher. Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY) acquired the company for approximately $90 million in a cash-and-stock deal that closed in February 2021, making MKF part of Bally’s broader push into North American digital sports and gaming.
What DFS platforms replaced Monkey Knife Fight?
Most former MKF users migrated to PrizePicks or Underdog Fantasy, the two largest pick’em-style DFS platforms still operating in 2026. Both use a similar over/under prop format to MKF’s More or Less contests, though payout structures and state availability differ. Compare current terms before signing up.
Why did Bally’s shut down Monkey Knife Fight?
Bally’s cited unsustainable losses in its North American interactive division. MKF’s revenue reportedly declined roughly 36% in 2022, and Bally’s chose to consolidate its digital strategy around other brands rather than continue funding the platform’s burn rate. The closure was part of a broader restructuring, not a regulatory action against MKF specifically.
Final Verdict
Monkey Knife Fight is not a viable option for DFS players today, and its lasting lesson is that a nine-figure acquisition price offered no protection against a shutdown two years later.
The core takeaway for evaluating any DFS operator: weigh business durability alongside line quality and brand recognition, not instead of them. MKF’s app and lines were unremarkable but serviceable — it was the balance sheet, not the product, that ended the platform.
For an active pick’em DFS platform with a similar prop format, see our current PrizePicks review and Underdog Fantasy review, or our full pick’em app comparison for a side-by-side breakdown. We update this historical profile if any new information about Monkey Knife Fight’s closure or account resolution emerges.
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