The Fantasy Sports Trade Association announced it will release the findings from its 2015 study on growth and other trends in the fantasy industry at its upcoming conference.
What we’ll learn
The FSTA research will be released next week, on June 23, at the FSTA Summer Conference in New York. According to the FSTA, the study will “focus on trends in participation, spending, and mobile devices.”
Of particular interest in this study? The last numbers in fantasy participation came from 2013, before last year’s huge surge in DFS participation and revenue.
The most recent study from the FSTA showed that there was level interest among players in fantasy football and baseball, decline in basketball, and growth in interest in fantasy hockey, NASCAR and college football.
What to watch for
When the new study is released, here are some trends to watch for:
- Is DFS driving more participation in the traditional fantasy stalwarts of football and baseball?
- One of the central tenets of DFS is that it drives interest in sports. Is it creating more fantasy participation in the other major North American team sports of basketball and hockey?
- How much has interest in any non-traditional fantasy sports increased? These numbers might not show a significant DFS impact, as DFS for golf, NASCAR and MMA did not appear at DraftKings until this year.
- How much are fantasy players using mobile devices to participate? While apps have been popular for season-long fantasy, more apps and mobile functionality have been added by DFS sites since the last study.
Suffice it to say, the impact of DFS on growth from the study will be of great interest, when the numbers are revealed.
