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FTN Network Leverages Strong Q1 2023 Growth to Close $500k Bridge Round from Techstars Sports Accelerator

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FTN Network, a data company specializing in delivering affordable, customizable, extraordinarily detailed and accurate data for betting, season-long fantasy and daily fantasy announced the closing of its $500,000 Bridge Round, which oversubscribed; with the help of Techstars, a global accelerator for technology startups. FTN was selected to participate in the Techstars Sports Accelerator Powered by Indy program in Indianapolis in April 2022. FTN is now actively raising a $3–5 million seed round to help expedite and scale the company, building on its robust early growth in traffic, subscription revenues and social media engagement.

More specifically:

  • Q1 2023 traffic was up 54% (year-over-year) across the FTN network of sites.
  • Q1 2023 subscription revenue was up 34% (year-over-year) across the FTN network of sites.
  • FTN YouTube views are up 32% (year-over-year) and overall subscribers are up 31% (year-over-year).
  • FTN Podcast Network downloads are up 25% (year-over-year).

“Our goal and mission with FTN was to create a fantasy and sports betting data company that allowed any user — from those with a limited budget to a top-of-the-line sportsbook — the flexibility to use our data and tools in ways that fit their specific needs. We never wanted to box our customers into a rigid system. Our exemplary year-over-year results are proof that our vision is filling a great need in the market,” said Kevin Adams, CEO of FTN Network.

“The closing of our bridge round from the Techstars Accelerator is going to help us invest in areas of our business where we’re seeing strong engagement, create new strategic partnerships with providers, tech companies and sportsbooks, and expand our talent pool with new developers and advisors to continue scaling and building one of the most innovative sites in the industry,” Kevin Adams added.

In recent months, FTN has signed strategic partnerships with companies such as Sorare, Bettle and Prediction Strike, and rolled out two significant new tools which are gaining popularity with users and achieving significant traction in Google search results. First, its Same Game Parlay Tool on FTNBets.com takes APIs from the six largest US sportsbooks and compares a user’s same game parlay line with FTN Data projections to create “True Odds.” This allows the user to stay away from bad payouts and shop for the best odds. Second is their Player Prop Tool, which shows the best player prop bets available using their FTN Data projections to calculate win%, edge and expected value while offering the best line on the market to place that bet. This allows users to leverage FTN Data to make the most educated player prop bets as possible.

“As we look toward our next round of funding, our sights are focused on scaling our existing products and services, and integrating the NBA and PGA into FTN Data, all while expanding into the business-to-business (B2B) market with FTN Data. By investing in more charters (people watching games and collecting data in real time) we’ll have the ability to push our data to clients quicker, creating an opportunity for our users to make smarter and faster decisions. We at FTN are relentless in our approach to innovation and our goal of providing the most customizable data sets and products for each customer or corporation,” said Stefano Vaccarino, FTN’s Chief Marketing Officer.

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Fantasy Sports

Canton Welcomes the Return of the Country’s Largest Fantasy Football Expo to Hall of Fame Village in August

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Hall of Fame Village announced that the largest Fantasy Football Expo in the country will be making a comeback, and looks to bring thousands to Canton. Fantasy Football Expo 2024 will be hosted on the Hall of Fame Village campus at the Center for Performance from August 9 to 11, 2024. This event, in its 5th year, takes place for a second time at the Village and brings together passionate fantasy football fans and top experts from around the country for 3 days of ultimate fantasy football fun.

Fantasy Football Expo 2024 has 3 days of experiences planned, uniting enthusiastic fans and leading experts nationwide. The weekend includes a blend of fantasy drafts, networking opportunities, and expert insights, bringing together seasoned veterans and newcomers to experience all things “fantasy football” under one roof.

“Hosting the Fantasy Football Expo 2024 fits perfectly within our Company’s model of bringing sports and entertainment together, especially with fantasy and the virtual experience being such integral parts of how fans engage with sports. We are thrilled to leverage our world-class venue to enhance and elevate this extraordinary event, considering the popularity of fantasy football and our mission to inspire and entertain guests,” Michael Crawford, President & CEO at Hall of Fame Village, said.

Bob Lung, Director of the Expo, said: “I’m incredibly thankful to work with Hall of Fame Village to bring the Expo back for another fantastic year. Hall of Fame Village offers an unparalleled backdrop for the event, providing the perfect setting for fantasy football enthusiasts to come together and celebrate their passion.”

Key highlights of the event include the introduction of Sports Betting Saturday, Presented by Underdog Fantasy, offering a unique opportunity to learn strategies and techniques to help enhance your experience in the sports betting world. Expert panels and workshops will be a focal point, delivering valuable insights and strategies from esteemed names in the sports betting and fantasy football industry. Sports Betting Saturday is committed to promoting responsible gaming practices and recognizing the importance of maintaining a safe and enjoyable environment for all participants. With dedicated sessions led by experts and sports gaming representatives, attendees will gain comprehensive insights into responsible gaming measures, including strategies for setting limits, recognizing problem gambling behaviors, and accessing support resources.

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Fantasy Sports

Underdog Invests in Critical Responsible Gaming Cross-Platform Technology

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Underdog, the fastest-growing fantasy sports company ever, announced an investment in idPair by GuardDog, Underdog’s responsible gaming innovation fund. idPair’s proprietary technology creates a centralized view of an individual’s play and gambling activity across all applications and operators in a jurisdiction for regulators, providing for universal responsible gaming limits. In addition to an investment from the fund, idPair will have access to top advisors, mentors, and investors and will be prioritized for integration into Underdog’s product offerings.

“Most users play with more than one operator for their gaming activity. The opportunity we see with idPair is the ability to connect people and their play, and use those insights to inform enhanced responsible gaming initiatives. Operators can only focus on their individual platforms. We believe that the ability to partner with regulators using idPair’s technology will create opportunities for partnerships that advance safer play,” Adam Warrington, VP of responsible gaming at Underdog, said.

idPair is active in multiple jurisdictions, bridging information gaps by collaborating with legislators, regulators, and operators to detect and mitigate harm from high-risk gambling across platforms. Recognizing the crucial role of research to move the industry toward sustainability, idPair has also partnered with several major universities to facilitate the study of anonymized transactional data by experts in the field.

“We are thrilled about GuardDog’s investment and partnership with us. By leveraging their vast network and data, we can accelerate our mission to drive collaborative information sharing among operators and regulators, ultimately fostering a safer and more sustainable environment for all. Together, we look forward to making significant leaps in consumer protection and industry innovation,” Jonathan Aiwazian, CEO of idPair, said.

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Fantasy Sports

Underdog Fantasy Partners with Sift to Prevent Fraud, Protect Users

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Underdog Fantasy, the fast-growing sports gaming platform, announced a new partnership with Sift, the leader in Digital Trust & Safety, to protect users against fraud and streamline transactions.

Sift’s platform uses machine learning and a global data network of 1 trillion annual events to identify high-risk transactions in real time. Sift’s technology enables Underdog to prevent the use of stolen payment methods on its platform, reducing fraudulent chargebacks and false positives that create friction for legitimate players. With adoption from Underdog, Sift has cemented itself as the preferred fraud protection solution for daily fantasy and online gaming.

“Protecting our players through innovation is part of our DNA, and we’re thrilled to partner with Sift in this important mission. Sift’s industry expertise and innovative use of machine learning allow us to instantly identify and block emerging fraud threats without creating hurdles for our players. This partnership will help us further ensure our players can trust that Underdog will give them a fun, fair, and secure environment to increase their enjoyment of sports,” said Dustin Cooper, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Underdog Fantasy.

“With Sift’s deep and broad coverage in the online gaming industry, we have a unique level of visibility into different fraud patterns affecting the sector. Underdog Fantasy abides by a player-first mentality, and we’re confident our solution will help them do even more to protect their community without compromising a great user experience,” said Armen Najarian, Sift’s Chief Marketing Officer.

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