The recently held FSTA Summer Conference sponsored by Optimal Payments not only broke attendance records for the event – with over 250 attendees representing 130-plus companies – it also gave the association an opportunity to break some news of its own via the announcement of new participation figures as well as a series of guidelines that are designed to safeguard the integrity of the industry.
According to research conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the FSTA, fantasy sports participation in the United States and Canada has reached the 41-million mark. That figure, aided by the growth in daily fantasy games over the last two years, represents a nearly 13% increase in the number of U.S. and Canadian fantasy sports players since a similar study conducted in 2012. The study also shows that nearly one-in-four males are playing fantasy sports. More details about the research can be found at FSTA.org.
Additionally, FSTA president Paul Charchian announced that the association has adopted a new set of best practices that apply to all FSTA members but that are especially geared toward member companies that have a paid-entry business model. According to Charchian, these “common-sense guidelines ” will allow present and future fantasy sports companies to produce games that provide entertainment for players in a responsible fashion.
Among other highlights from the June 17-18 conference:
- A compelling conversation with San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings execs about how their new stadiums are being built with the fantasy sports player in mind;
- Reps from DIRECTV, ESPN, Yahoo, NFL Network and FNTSY Sports Network going behind the scenes with what to expect on broadcast and digital platforms this fall;
- A presentation from Trey Wainwright, the brother of St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, about how fantasy football is allowing their charity – Big League Impact – to impact the lives of people all around the world;
- A series of daily games gurus from DraftStreet, FanDuel, RotoExperts and RotoWire sharing tips on ways to deliver more value to the rapidly increasing daily market;
- Experts from Microsoft, CBSSports.com, App Annie and Highline Investments doling out advice about how to navigate the app store maze;
- Our biannual Elevator Pitch, sponsored by Thinking Fan Design and won by ScoreStreak;
- The induction of Rob Phythian into the Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame;
- The FSTA Expert League Football Draft sponsored by MGM Resorts International, aired on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio and conducted by RealTime Fantasy Sports;
- A superb post-draft After Party sponsored by FanMouth and a terrific post-conference Evening Event sponsored by Skrill USA
The FSTA thanks all our conference attendees and sponsors – in addition to those named above, Fantasy Alarm, BigGame Software, XML Team Solutions, Vinfotech and SportsData – for making this a record-setting event.
Be sure to mark the dates for our next conference: January 15-16, 2015 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. More details to come, but don’t hesitate to contactFSTA Association Director Megan Van Petten at megan@fsta.orgor 312-771-7019 to begin learning about sponsorship opportunities.