Tag: FantasyHub

Betting roundup /

Betting roundup: DraftKings steps in, bails out shuttered DFS site FantasyHub

After three weeks without access to their money, players from FantasyHub will have their balances restored, thanks to a bail-out deal from DraftKings.

The daily fantasy sports industry co-leader, DraftKings announced Thursday night it would take on FantasyHub’s obligations to both players and charities, a sum of a “few hundred thousand dollars,” according to ESPN’s David Purdum, who broke the story.

“This is not an acquisition deal or an asset purchase deal,” DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish told ESPN. “This is a very simple deal, where we’re assigning two liabilities from [FantasyHub] over to DraftKings in an effort to do the right thing for their player base, which has a nearly 80 percent overlap with our own. We never want to see our player base go through an experience that’s negative like this. What happened here was reprehensible. It is a breach of trust for these players and we share a lot of these players with them. We just didn’t think it was the right thing to do to sit on the sideline and let that happen. We had the ability to step up and do something.”

FantasyHub, a smaller site founded in Louisville, Ky., and based in Austin, suspended operations on Feb. 19, leaving players with no way to access their funds. Deepening the scandal, anecdotal reports surfaced that FantasyHub hadn’t paid some of the charities that players were told a portion of their winnings and deposits were going to.

DraftKings contacted FantasyHub players via email Thursday night with a notification that they can now withdraw or transfer balances through a page on DraftKings’ website.

FantasyHub is the second site to shut down in 2016 without immediately paying out its players. In January, FantasyUp dissolved, saying it did “not have the funds needed to process the withdrawals to all customers.” The company was later acquired by iTEAM Network, which restored player balances and relaunched the site.

AROUND THE WEB

LOOK WHO’S TALKING

“Jose Fernandez is a great example. Jose Fernandez will strike you out and stare you down into the dugout and pump his fist. And if you hit a homer and pimp it? He doesn’t care. Because you got him. That’s part of the game. … If a guy pumps his fist at me on the mound, I’m going to go, ‘Yeah, you got me. Good for you. Hopefully I get you next time.’ That’s what makes the game fun.” —Bryce Harper on tearing down baseball’s unwritten rules in a wide-ranging profile by ESPN The Magazine.

TWEETS OF NOTE

ODDS & ENDS

  • Whatever your perspective, it was an all around great day for baseball quotes. In addition to Harper’s candid thoughts on the state of the game, we were gifted with Goose Gossage deciding to go in on Jose Bautista and “nerds” in a profanity-filled rant.
  • Some odds and prop bets have been posted for next month’s Manny Pacquiao/Timothy Bradley fight.
  • DraftKings CEO Jason Robins will make an appearance at South by Southwest next week in Austin.
  • At least three NFL GMs have crossed Brent Grimes off their list of possible signings, due to his outspoken wife.
  • Bettors took a brutal loss/miraculous win in the Oklahoma/Iowa State game last night.
  • And bettors who pushed the Fresno State/UNLV line from a pick ’em to Fresno -3.5 were rewarded last night when the Bulldogs took a 13-point win.

ODDSMAKER’S TAKE

“It has been wild, and it pretty much emulates what we’re going to see next week. There is still David and Goliath, but that gap has narrowed so much.” —Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito on this week’s college basketball upsets.

DFS industry /

FantasyHub ‘temporarily suspending site operations,’ no comment on player funds

FantasyHub, which has stalled on player payments in recent weeks, announced today that it was temporarily suspending operations.

The site announced the suspension in an email to users sent out Friday morning, in which co-founder and CFO Steven Plappert said FantasyHub is “in discussions with a strategic third party regarding the company and are now finalizing decisions.” He said the lack of detailed information and further comment on the matter was based on advice from legal counsel. The full email is included below.

FantasyHub users began reporting payment issues earlier this week on the RotoGrinders forum. In the last two days, a site representative—presumably Plappert, based on the screen name—has posted two messages, neither offering much information.

On the surface, the situation appears similar to the recent saga at FantasyUp, which folded in January with a notice that it didn’t have the money to refund player balances. Soon after, they were bailed out by the iTEAM network, which manages a cadre of sites with pooled liquidity, and players were eventually paid out.

The differences in this case are that FantasyHub is believed to have a substantially larger player base and, unlike FantasyUp, is an FSTA member.

Real-money operators are required by the FSTA to segregate player deposits and winnings from operational funds, but the organization has no oversight powers over its members nor true mechanisms for enforcement.

FantasyHub launched in December 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas. Its point of differentiation in the industry has been its charity focus, but that has now also been called in to question, with some users reporting that charities appearing on FantasyHub’s page have no relationship with the company.

FantasyHub has yet to comment directly on the matter; as of Friday morning it claims to have donated more than $200,000 to various charities.

Here’s the full email from FantasyHub announcing suspension of operations:

Thank you for your patience. We sincerely apologize for the radio silence over the past few days.

Due to advice from counsel, we cannot divulge many details but we have been in discussions with a strategic third party regarding the company and are now finalizing those discussions.

While we can’t say more at this time, we’ll be in touch very soon with full information.

In the meantime, we will be suspending site operations.

Thank you again for your patience and we look forward to reaching out very soon with additional information.

Best,
Team FantasyHub

Betting Roundup /

Another daily fantasy sports site stalling on payments, promises answers by today

For the second time in 2016, a daily fantasy sports site has players on hold, as FantasyHub is reportedly stalling on requested payouts.

[UPDATE: FantasyHub announced Friday it was ‘temporarily suspending site operations’]

Last month, FantasyUp went under, shuttering operations with a notice that it did not have the money to refund player balances. Soon after, they were bailed out by the iTEAM network, which manages a cadre of sites with pooled liquidity, and players were eventually paid out.

FantasyHub is believed to have a substantially larger player base, and unlike FantasyUp, it is a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.

Details on the situation at FantasyHub are scant at the moment. Players began reporting payout delays and unanswered customer service inquiries earlier this week on the RotoGrinders forum. In the last two days, a site representative—presumably Steven Plappert, the company’s co-founder and CFO—has posted two messages, neither offering much information.

Hi guys,

We really appreciate the concerns that you are bringing up and apologize for the radio silence.

I can assure you we will be issuing a formal response very soon and ask if everyone could hold their concerns until this Friday for more information.

Best,
Steven

Hi guys,

Just wanted to reach out again to let you know we are watching things closely here and appreciate all the concerns regarding recent events.

I can assure you, we are working very hard over here 24/7 and will be able to provide clarity soon.

I am sorry this has caused dissent but I encourage everyone to remain calm for just a little while longer.

All the best,
Steven

Real-money operators are required by the FSTA to segregate player deposits and winnings from operational funds, but the organization has no oversight powers or true enforcement mechanism.

FantasyHub launched in December 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas. Its point of differentiation in the industry has been its charity focus, but that has now also been called in to question, with some users reporting that charities appearing on FantasyHub’s page have no relationship with the company.

FantasyHub has yet to comment directly on the matter; as of Friday morning it claims to have donated more than $200,000 to various charities.

AROUND THE WEB

DFS LEGAL BEAT

LOOK WHO’S TALKING

“I did think it was funny, but I kind of hid behind the sofa when I watched it. It was quite painful to watch.”—FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles on John Oliver’s 20-minute rant on DFS.

ODDS & ENDS

DFS industry /

FantasyHub CEO takes aim at Vegas stalwart Sheldon Adelson on DFS regulation issue

The cold war brewing between casino/gaming operators in Nevada and daily fantasy sports is warming up. Those with gaming interests have been increasingly vocal lately about their displeasure that DFS has been allowed to operate in an unregulated environment.

This week, at least one daily fantasy insider is returning fire.

Asked about the possibility of regulation in DFS, FantasyHub CEO Andrew Busa didn’t hold back in an email to DFT, saving his most pointed comments for Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate who has long opposed online gaming:

If we were to be regulated like casinos and have extra taxes there should be tax collectors at every golf course with a bag for the social wagering on holes in a round.

This is just a move by Sheldon Adelson to shut down the industry as he adamantly believes online gaming will be the end of brick-and-mortar casinos. But he is just a sad old man with too much money and too many small worries. His political contributions are proof of that.

I hope the DFS ties to the (professional sports) leagues will overcome anything Sheldon tries to do.

DFS Q&A /

FantasyHub CEO Andrew Busa talks e-sports, future of DFS industry, site’s charity focus

Most new entrants into daily fantasy sports tout their innovation, but FantasyHub’s differences go beyond the contests it offers. Some portion of every game on FantasyHub goes to charity, and since launching last year, the site has helped raise more than $75,000 for charity organizations.

Andrew Busa, who founded the company with lifelong friend Steven Plappert and former University of Tennessee baseball player Chris Pierce, believes commitment to charity and bridging the gap between sport and fan through partnerships with high-profile athletes will help sustain the site over the long haul.

Busa spoke with DailyFantasyTalk recently about those topics and FantasyHub’s pending launch of e-sports contests.

You are already offering traditional daily fantasy contests, but you’re also getting ready to launch e-sports soon. What led you in that direction?

All of us here were kind of closet gamers growing up. One of our developers actually played League of Legends, which is one of the world’s most popular video games, and it was kind of amazing to see the excitement of hundreds of millions of people engaging with League of Legends and e-sports overall. The prize pools for these tournaments a few years ago were pennies on the dollar and now for the Dota 2 International there’s $17 million at stake for the 24 teams competing for it.

All that money for the prize pool was created with just 25 percent of add-on sales that consumers put up for the game. Because they want the game to have more progress, they want to see these big tournaments happen, and they want to see the top teams compete for that ultimate prize. So the fact that fans of this game were wanting to propel their industry forward is amazing to see. So if they’re willing to do that, it’ll be fascinating to see other things moving forward.

For us, whether it’s football, baseball, NASCAR, whatever, e-sports is certainly a sport. It was made so by federal law in 2008. So if a Chinese team comes over to compete, they have the same custom as the Argentine soccer team and what Messi gets when he comes over to play a game. We see it as a sport, just like anything else. There’s certainly a different group of people that engage with it, but most fantasy guys are gamers themselves; they played FIFA or Madden growing up and this is just kind of a different type of game, a different level of competition, but it’s really just as engaging to watch as your regular football match. So that’s what really kind of compelled us—the passionate fanbase that’s there, the growing numbers—prize pools, tournaments, all that. It just kind of fit in with what we wanted to do, which is provide a great experience to all fans.

There’s a growing existing base for e-sports, but what do you do for your current users who may be unfamiliar with it?

For our current users that play traditional fantasy sports, it’s an education tool, just like if you know nothing about golf but play daily fantasy football. It’s helping people understand what it is and how it works, and what are the drivers that win tournaments and that make a successful team or a successful player. We had a guy who’s been playing with us for a while doing beta for e-sports and within his fifth game he won a tournament against 40 other people. He wasn’t really watching, but just kind of looking at the numbers and guessing and making changes and he was able to have success. So we’re going to provide those kinds of guides and tools and things to help kind of bring awareness to a space that most fantasy players haven’t seen before.

The other thing that kind of differentiates FantasyHub is the charity aspect. Tell me more about that.

The charity thing came about in 2013 when I was coaching a middle-of-nowhere Kentucky basketball team and we were doing a mattress fundraising sell. Ultimately, I knew these kids and parents knew nothing about selling mattresses, but what they did know was fantasy sports. I thought that would be a great tool—using daily fantasy sports as a fundraising mechanism for high school teams, youth teams, and pretty much anyone in and around sports who needed to engage with their donors in a fun and unique experience.

Then we had the partnership with Adrian Petersen kind of fall into our lap, and we started to see that most professional athletes have their own foundations, and they have the same fundraising struggle as a youth sports team. So we were a great tool and mechanism for them to engage with their fan base and provide a fun and enriching experience for their fans while also raising support and awareness for the great causes that they’re trying to make a difference with.

We’re really trying to provide a different place for fans to play fantasy sports at and ultimately have a more compelling, different reason to play fantasy sports outside of just winning money. Our fans can win cash and prizes, but we want to have a different experience, and that kind of comes back to us trying to bridge the gap between fan and sport. Our charity piece is definitely a big part of why our fans play with us. They know that whether they win or lose, just them being active and choosing to play, they’re helping to impact the communities in which they live in and ultimately that makes for a better sports experience.

Long term, we want to make our experiences richer, where you’re not just meeting your favorite athlete or receiving an autograph like you can now, but we want to give the whole experience, whether its tickets to a game or being a GM for a day—things that fan could really only fantasize about before.

Growth in the daily fantasy space really exploded in the last year and with football season rolling back around, it must be an exciting time. What do you envision for the industry as a whole both in the short term and maybe five years down the road?

In the short term, there are going to be more competitors popping up. That’s just kind of the nature of the beast. The guys that are currently in the space—especially FanDuel, DraftKings, they’re going to have a heck of a lot more ads on TV than there already are, and there are going to be bigger prizes to entice more people into the space. You’re going to see a lot of people coming back this football season who have already played daily and ultimately the space is going to continue to grow massively.

Last year there was $1 billion spent in daily games across the year, and it’s projected to grow to $17 billion by 2020. So with that money—just like with e-sports and those prize pools—there are going to be a ton of opportunities and more eyeballs on the space. There’s all these different things going on, and it’s not just going to be a two-horse race like it is now. I could see FanDuel and DraftKings potentially consolidating in the future, just like how Bwin and 888 poker recently consolidated with a $1.4 billion price tag. I could see FanDuel and DraftKings doing similar things.

But ultimately with us being a start-up in a space with two established players already, it’s up to us to continue to be unique and provide those kinds of things so fans will keep coming back like they currently have.

DFS /

Popularity Rankings of Daily Fantasy sites (Spring ’15 edition)

Last week, in a discussion in our Daily Fantasy forum, there was talk about a site called PokerScout.com, which rates the popularity of online poker rooms. It was suggested that a similar ranking effort would be helpful for Daily Fantasy sites. In other words, if we knew the popularity of DFS sites, we’d have a better idea of the talent that’s playing there—and at the very least, the potential size of the player pool.

Some of the smaller DFS sites don’t offer the big paydays found at more-established places, but you might be less likely to run into high rollers and sharks. For the typical player, that means more opportunities to battle other non-pros for potential wins.

I decided to rank all the DFS sites by the number of visitors they get using Alexa, considered one of the best site-ranking tools on the Internet. It’s not nearly as precise a measurement as what you’ll find at PokerScout, but it should provide a decent gauge for ranking DFS sites nonetheless.

Which DFS Sites Are the Most Popular?

Understand that the rankings given are for April 2015, and some of these DFS sites are more popular for different sports and/or don’t have the exact same offerings. That means some sites get more visitors in different months. We hope to update these rankings in the future to compare them to past data points. 

1. FanDuel.com — U.S. Rank: 940

It’s no surprise these guys rule the DFS roost, as they had over $57 million in revenue in 2014, just five years after starting in 2009. According to FanDuel, they had more than one million paid active players during football season last year.

FanDuel is partially owned by NBC Sports Ventures and has deals with the NBA and several traditional Fantasy sites, like CBS Sports and RotoWire. Their “FanDuel Fantasy Football Championship” is considered the biggest DFS tournament of the year.

2. DraftKings.com — U.S. Rank: 1,106

FanDuel’s biggest competition comes from DraftKings, which has been aggressive in buying up other DFS sites, like DraftStreet and StarStreet. Most recently, however, they signed two major deals with ESPN, Major League Baseball and the NHL. Those deals could push them ahead of FanDuel for the summer, but FanDuel should return to being King of the DFS Hill once football season arrives.

DraftKings brought in more than $17 million in revenue in the last quarter of 2014. Over $1 billion was paid in entry fees to the top two sites on this list.

3. Victiv.com — U.S. Rank: 29,635

This is one of the newest DFS sites on the block, as they just showed up for football season last year. And yet, here they are, in their first baseball season, and they already rank third in popularity among DFS sites. This is a company based out of Austin, Texas, with a statistician physicist on board to help with predictive salaries.

Victiv has an interesting “Bankroll Builder” plan for first-time players, which doesn’t require a deposit. Users can sign up for free and receive three tickets to “Bankroll Builder” games, where they can win money to use in cash games. DFS veterans will be excited to know they also have anonymous Head-to-Head games. You won’t know who you’re facing until after the rosters lock!

4. FantasyAces.com — U.S. Rank: 33,818

In an effort to stand out, FantasyAces offers a game the two super sites don’t: Salary Pro. A user can go over or under the $55,000 salary cap, with bonuses and penalties issued for doing so. In other words, if you are as confident with the cheaper players as you are with the expensive ones, then why not use them and get bonus points for every $500 you remain under the cap? (Oppositely, you lose points for going over the cap.) In the past, they’ve had personal deals with athletes like Matt Forte and Pablo Sandoval.

5. DraftDay.com — U.S. Rank: 35,985

DraftDay bought FanThrowdown last year and picked up its users. My favorite part of DraftDay is its array of different Daily Fantasy games, including Rapid Fire contests, which match up five different pairs of players. Choose which player will do better in each matchup, get three of the five right, and you’ve doubled your money (minus the rake). Other interesting offerings include brackets and live drafts.

6. FantasyScore.com — U.S. Rank: 64,424

FantasyScore ranks high in large part because it is backed by USA Today and RTSports. (USA Today also acquired the content team at KFFL last season). Users can play in draft or salary cap leagues in all four major league sports.

7. FantasyFeud.com — U.S. Rank: 65,125

For a while, it seemed like FantasyFeud was either going to join the major DFS sites or end up getting snatched up like DraftStreet or FanThrowdown. Instead, neither of those things happened. But FantasyFeud trots on independently and covers the four major sports—along with PGA, college football and college basketball. It also features games for the National LaCrosse League. The site’s chat feature makes it easy to go up against players you’re already communicating with.

8. ScoreStreak.com — U.S. Rank: 77,818

This site offers a different type of Daily Fantasy game in that it doesn’t use a salary cap. You can build your team however you want, but you need your players to accomplish certain objectives—in categories like hits, strikeouts and total bases—and then slot them accordingly. So, if you pick the right guy to get four hits, and another to get three hits, and another to get two hits, then you score points for choosing them correctly. It’s much easier than it sounds.

9. FantasyHub.com — U.S. Rank: 124,019

It’s not the gameplay that makes playing on this site much different than the others, it’s actually the way the entire business model is set up. Play Daily Fantasy games and help out charities at the same time. Percentages of winnings go toward dozens of great causes, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Society, ASPCA and many other charities and foundations run by athletes. This is a great way for the hobby to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate.

10. MondoGoal.com — U.S. Rank: 132,294

This is a whole other version of “Fantasy Football,” as this site caters to fans in America and abroad by offering Daily Fantasy soccer games. Despite launching just eight months ago, MondoGoal already has deals with football clubs like Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. One interesting note is that you can get their 200 percent deposit bonus if you deposit U.S. dollars, and you can get the bonus again if you deposit in GBP (Great British Pounds). Then you just choose which types of games you want to play in – USD or GBP.

As you’d expect, this site’s world rank (260,000) would be enough to rank them sixth on this list. No doubt, this is a DFS site that will be on the rise in America in the coming months.

Outside of the top 10 DFS sites in popularity are these sites:

11. Ballr.com — U.S. Rank: 140,965
12. SportsTradex.com — U.S. Rank: 237,662
13. StarFantasyLeagues.com — U.S. Rank: 289,986
14. StatClash.com — U.S. Rank: 300,613
15. FantasyUp.com — U.S. Rank: 322,321
16. RotoDerby.com — U.S. Rank: 353,017
17. PlayDraft.com — U.S. Rank: 474,587
18. FanNation.com — U.S. Rank: 484,199
19. Swoopt.com — U.S. Rank: 526,295
20. SKYLLZONE.com — U.S. Rank: 839,830
21. Fanamana.com — U.S. Rank: 896,809

As we said, as the spring months roll into summer, and summer changes to fall, we’ll see these DFS sites change in their popularity rankings, but it’ll be interesting to see which DFS sites make the biggest jumps.