Crypto Gaming Is Booming and MonkeyTilt Is Part of the Surge

Back in 2021, crypto was a gold rush. People were paying millions for digital art called NFTs — basically unique images you could “own” on the blockchain. Others were parking their money in something called DeFi, short for decentralized finance, which promised wild interest rates on your crypto deposits. And brands like Samsung and Gucci were buying virtual land in “metaverse” worlds, betting that we’d all be hanging out in VR headsets soon.

Then everything fell apart.

Bloomberg reported that monthly NFT trading volume dropped 81% between January 2022 and July 2023, based on DappRadar data. DeFi returns also compressed across the downturn as yields across major protocols slid. And the metaverse buzz didn’t translate into sustained activity either: CoinDesk reported that Decentraland recorded 38 on-chain active users in a 24-hour period despite a market value once measured in the billions.

But while all of that was crashing, one corner of crypto kept growing: gambling.

According to the Financial Times, Stake.com, a crypto casino where you can bet Bitcoin on everything from blackjack to sports, generated nearly $2.6 billion in revenue in 2022. That’s up from just $105 million two years earlier — a 2,400% jump during a brutal bear market.

Now a new player is chasing that same opportunity. Monkey Tilt is a crypto-native online casino founded by Sam Kiki, a Las Vegas native who previously worked at MGM Resorts and Caesars. The platform offers sports betting, slots, blackjack, and roulette, but what makes it different is the social element. Users can chat with each other while they play and even donate portions of their winnings to friends.

“I’m looking at the future as you log in and you’re hanging out on the site for a few hours, talking to your friends,” Kiki told Fortune. “You’re gambling together. You’re having fun the same way you would in Vegas.”

The traction has been fast. Monkey Tilt launched in March 2024 and hit $200 million in monthly betting volume within eight months. The company has raised $51 million from investors including Pantera Capital.

“Monkey Tilt is pushing the online gaming world into a new era that’s heads and shoulders above the rest of the market,” Ryan Barney, a Pantera Capital partner, said in a statement. “Sam has already proven to be an authoritative leader in this space, and we’re so proud to back a platform that’s genuinely shaping the future of entertainment.”