Some interesting news out of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association conference today in New York, as new research proved what most already suspected: Fantasy sports are growing dramatically, and by a variety of metrics, from dollars spent to time invested.
The FSTA-commissioned study, carried out by Ipsos Public Affairs, detailed a 40-percent increase in fantasy sports participation over last year’s numbers, bringing the total in the US and Canada to 56.8 million.
“Our remarkable growth in the last year is fueled by many innovations in the industry, including dramatic improvements in mobile offerings and the rise of daily fantasy sports,” FSTA president Paul Charchian said. “The surge in consumer spending is reflective of the desire to find new ways to engage in this fast-growing pastime.”
Evidence of the DFS rise is measured perhaps most convincingly in dollar amounts. The study found that fantasy sports players are spending an average of $465 dollars annually—up from $95 per year in 2012—with DFS accounting for $257 (or 55.27 percent) of that total.
FanDuel announces $4 million tournament
In a move that should garner plenty of attention in the run-up to what is expected to be a highly lucrative NFL season, FanDuel recently announced its World Fantasy Baseball Championship, which will be held Aug. 20-23 in Las Vegas.
Qualifying tournaments are ongoing, and 90 winners will be flown to Las Vegas for the finale. The winner will take home a $1 million prize, with the remaining 89 dividing up the rest. (Each finalist is guaranteed at least $10,000.)
The WFBC is the marquee event of the summer for FanDuel, which doesn’t offer contests in golf, NASCAR or MMA.
‘Fantasy sports books’ coming to restaurant/entertainment chain
Latitude 360 is moving into the field of daily fantasy sports, the restaurant chain announced recently. Aiming for a launch by the beginning of the NFL season, the food/entertainment venue will offer “fantasy sports books” in its on-site sports theatres, Forbes reported Sunday.
The plan includes the installation of iPads for patrons’ DFS usage and VIP rooms with contest prizes ranging from $250 to $25,000 that the restaurant hopes will lure players.
Any success could be a boon for fledgling DFS site Major League Fantasy, which Latitude 360 acquired in advance of the announcement.
Draft Ops to sponsor Rich Eisen Show
According to the Sports Business Journal [Note: paywall], Daily Fantasy site DraftOps.com has partnered with The Rich Eisen Show.
Draft Ops, which is owned by Emil Interactive Games, announced a deal with Viacom-owned Bellator MMA in January to become the organization’s official fantasy gaming partner.