Company experiencing strong growth in volume
of payments processed for Fantasy Sports market segment
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Optimal
Payments Plc (LSE AIM: OPAY), a leading global online
payment solutions provider, is confident on the prospects for
growth in payment processing for fantasy sports as the Fantasy
Sports Trade Association (FSTA) 2015 Winter Conference, the key
annual industry show at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in
Las Vegas.
The FSTA 2015 Winter Conference, with Optimal Payments serving
as the sole Platinum sponsor, attracts hundreds of industry
professionals including leading service providers, sports media
organizations and researchers, among others.
There is no doubt that the recent performance of the fantasy
sports industry in North America
has been impressive. According to the FSTA:
- In 2014, there were more than 41.5 million fantasy sports
players in the U.S. and Canada
- On average, each player spends $111 annually on league-related costs,
single-player challenge games and league-related materials
- Total U.S. players' spending is greater than $3.6 billion annually
In line with the general growth in the fantasy sports market
over the past 12 months, Optimal Payments has seen strong growth in
the revenues it generates from processing payments for that market
and it expects that growth to continue.
Optimal Payments supports two leading daily fantasy sports
operators (DFS), FanDuel and DraftKings, which are estimated to
collectively represent more than 90 percent of the DFS market.
FanDuel recently raised $70 million
in funding, led by Shamrock Capital Advisors, NBC Sports Ventures
and KKR, among others. This was announced just days after
DraftKings raised $41 million during its own round of funding.
"The popularity of fantasy sports reached an all-time high in
North America in 2014," said
Joel Leonoff, president and CEO,
Optimal Payments. "Our global experience in regulated gaming
positioned us to become the preferred payments processing provider,
helping fantasy sports sites to operate in a safe and secure
environment."
Optimal Payments is an active member of the FSTA and
Neil Erlick, the company's executive
vice president, business development, delivered opening remarks on
the second day of the conference.
The company is actively supporting industry efforts to protect
the integrity of fantasy sports site operators on the state and
national level.
According to the FSTA, fantasy sports are games of skill
requiring players to take into account a myriad of statistics,
facts and game theory in order to be competitive and is seen as
quite distinct from gambling.
About Optimal Payments Plc
Optimal Payments is a
global provider of online payment solutions, trusted by businesses
and consumers in over 200 countries and territories to move and
manage billions of dollars each year. Merchants use the NETBANX®
platform and services to simplify how they accept credit and debit
card, direct-from-bank, and alternative and local payments; and the
NETELLER® service to increase revenues and capture new customers.
Consumers use the multilingual and multicurrency NETELLER and Net+®
Card stored-value offering to make secure and convenient payments.
In July 2014, Optimal Payments
acquired Meritus Payment Solutions and GMA as part of the company's
commitment to strengthen its presence in the US market. Optimal
Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM, with a
ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary company Optimal Payments Ltd is
authorized and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial
Conduct Authority (FRN: 900015).
For more information on Optimal Payments
visit www.optimalpayments.com or subscribe
at http://www.optimalpayments.com/media/email-alerts.
SOURCE Optimal Payments Plc