Consolidation has been a major trend in the iGaming and betting industry, and Dennis Tsalikis, CEO of Fantasy Sports Interactive (FSI), told SBC that once regulation of the US market is complete, he expects to see a rise in the number of major business deals across the industry.
FSI are set to sponsor Betting on Sports America in a few weeks time, which will bring together some of the industry’s most prominent figures to discuss topics such as regulation, marketing the role of lotteries in the new market. The event, taking place from 23-25 April, is set to host 175 leading industry speakers across 40 sessions, with 60 exhibitors displaying their latest products at the Meadowlands Exposition Center.
What are you looking forward to at Betting on Sports America?
Betting On Sports America will bring together the more “seasoned” European igaming and betting representatives and the promising post-PASPA US Sports industry. We are confident that the American sports betting industry will boom within the next 2-3 years, and FSI will be a part of this.
So, I’m looking forward to witnessing and being part of the overall networking experience now, and especially to gain valuable insight from keynote speakers like the New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, Hard Rock’s Kresimir Spajic, Pinnacle’s Paris Smith and experts like Vic Salerno and Eilers & Krejcik’s Chris Grove.
What are you promoting at Betting on Sports America?
At FSI we offer a variety of cross-platform fantasy sports solutions, ranging from classic fantasy sports concepts like season-long games, and daily fantasy contest lobbies, to original formats first-launched by us, such as No-Budget/Salary Cap Fantasy. We also develop customized, mobile-first products, oriented towards user engagement and Marketing.
More importantly, FSI has been the first fantasy software company to establish fantasy betting formats, which, considering the igaming and betting history of the US, we firmly believe they are the key to the contemporary and future evolution of the local industry.
At Betting on Sports America, we’ll be promoting our exclusive, world-first “Fixed-Odds-Fantasy” (FOF) product. Fixed-Odds-Fantasy combines classic sportsbook and fixed-odds betting with fantasy sports, in a betting and skill gaming mix that offers a variety of advantages to operators.
Specifically, it cuts down player liquidity-related marketing costs, such as the “Guaranteed Pots” the classic daily fantasy requires as a pool game, while it can be operated under a standard betting license where applicable, even in states where fantasy is still under debate.
What’s especially interesting for all US operators, is that Fixed-Odds-Fantasy provides them the ability to offer fantasy sports, without competing with industry giants Draft Kings and FanDuel.
Furthermore, it is a product that will be particularly attractive to the US audience, since they have been very familiar with fantasy sports, but relatively inexperienced with sports betting. Under this scope, Fixed-Odds-Fantasy is a most easy and cost-effective solution to audience education, which leads to customer acquisition and the coveted customer retention as well.
What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
Well, consolidation has been the main trend in the igaming and betting industry for the last five years, and I’m sure that as soon as regulation is complete, we’ll see some major business deals in our field.
Speaking of the US territory and with FSI being a fantasy sports software company, the acquisition of FanDuel by Paddy Power Betfair and the following integration of IGT sports betting by GAN for the FanDuel Group were two important moves on the American chessboard. As well as the recent online gambling partnership between Ceasar’s Entertainment and DraftKings.
If you could attend one sporting event, what would it be?
Definitely a FIFA World Cup Final! I love sports in general, but I’m always a football/soccer fan at heart!
For more information, please visit the Betting on Sports America website.
