Online gaming used to be a solo activity; a person sat in front of a screen hoping to land on red. But like companies like Stake.com, FanDuel and DraftKings They have gained popularity in recent years, they are investors bets about the growing social aspect that has become part of many betting platforms.
That’s where Monkey Tilt, which combines entertainment and gaming, announced Wednesday that it has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital.
Monkey Tilt is the brainchild of Las Vegas native Sam Kiki, who has helped run some of the biggest casinos in the US and now hopes to use his expertise to take on the biggest players in the online game.
“I’m looking forward to the future when you’re on the site for a few hours after logging in, talking to your friends. You are playing together. You’re having fun like you do in Vegas,” Kiki said luck.
Kiki sees Monkey Tilt as an entertainment company as much as an online casino. He hopes to develop a recognizable brand by partnering with celebrities and influencers to create content that drives users to his platform.
This is similar to the strategy used by online crypto casino Stake.com, which partners with influencers who promote the site to their users by playing on their live streams. Kiki says Monkey Tilt is different, going one step further by building their brand around these partnerships.
“We’re going to partner with the most stylish performers, the cultural icons, the coolest brands, but beyond that, we have to create content with them,” Kiki said.
The platform has also integrated a chat function where users can communicate with each other while betting and give a portion of the winnings to other users.
“We are very big on the integration of many social features. I think the gaming platform of the future is much more socially immersive than the gaming platforms of the past,” said Kiki.
Monkey Tilt launched in March and has already collected $200 million in monthly bets. Online casinos today offer sports betting and casino games like blackjack, roulette and slots.
Kiki says poker and a crypto-payments infrastructure are coming in the coming weeks.
Kiki will use a large portion of the money raised in this round for paid advertising and marketing. It also plans to use the money to create a technology team to maintain the platform.
Monkey Tilt is not the only online casino attracting VC interest. In March, another site that aims to provide an immersive gaming experience, MyPrize, get up $13 million in two funding rounds, valuing the company at $140 million.
