FSTA to expand and embrace changes

Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) has decided to expand further and embrace more changes. FSTA has announced at its Winter Conference that it is welcoming the legal and technological changes happening in the industry and it is planning bring in sports gaming into its ambit. The organisation will change its name to Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), with effect from 1 April 2019.

The association plans to expand its mission to include all the new markets emerging in sports: sports betting, games of skills and non-sports contests.

With the recent US Supreme Court decision overturning PASPA and allowing states to decide whether to legalise sports betting, the expanded scope of the association will allow members to network with the dealmakers in these new markets and to collectively work to ensure that the new laws allow members to compete in the marketplace.

The FSGA will continue to be the leading association for the fantasy sports industry, but its expanded focus will offer a forum for companies that offer games, services, analytics, and content for both legal contests of skill and sports gaming.

“We see a need for an association of companies that not only offer fantasy sports, but also emerging gaming opportunities,” said FSTA president Paul Charchian. “Non-sports fantasy games, eSports and sports betting have gameplay similarities, shared vendors, shared customers and shared legal goals. We will build on our 21-year track record of helping to grow the businesses within these industries.”

The number of fantasy sports players has increased exponentially, to nearly 60 million in the US and Canada, since the FSTA was formed. The FSTA has been a big part of that growth, generating research and data for the industry, providing key networking opportunities and a forum for collective action.

The FSTA has led legal efforts to defend the use of player names in fantasy contests and to defend fantasy sports as legal games of skill, spearheading an effort that has seen 20 states pass laws confirming paid fantasy sports contests are legal games of skill.

The debut event of the FSGA will be its June 27–28 Summer Conference in New York City.