Why FantasySpin is positioning itself as a games company

FantasySpin cofounders Sahil Patel and Steve Happas joined The BettingStartups Podcast live from SBC Summit Americas to talk about their journey and how they’re trying to bring a game-first mentality back to fantasy. 

Fantasy sports used to be fun. At least, that’s how the team behind FantasySpin remembers it—drafting with friends, trash-talking in group chats, and running leagues that lasted all season. But over time, the experience has been bogged down by overly technical interfaces, late lineup changes, and apps that prioritized optimization over enjoyment, the cofounders said.

“A lot of people in the industry when they're playing these games typically lose money and not actually have fun in the process of doing so,” Patel said. “We talked to hundreds of users to really uncover this truth about the gameplay.”

FantasySpin is betting that a little more chaos—and a lot more fun—is the way forward.

Patel, who previously cofounded Bettor Fantasy, said the original spark came from a bet with his friend Will during the 2020 season. “I was like, ‘Will, I wanna bet you my team beats your team,’” he said. “There was no platform that facilitated a way for fantasy leagues to bet on their own matchups.” They built something small for their league, it worked, and then it snowballed into an actual business.

Happas’ path came from a different direction—but with the same instinct. A serial entrepreneur who helped build and sell one of the largest affiliate marketing platforms in the online dating space, he saw clear parallels between fantasy and dating. “The user journey is terrible,” he said. “I want to build a product that even if the end game isn’t the result [you wanted], the experience of doing it was.”

That product is FantasySpin: a daily fantasy app that uses a slot-machine-inspired drafting mechanic. Instead of manually picking players from a list, users “spin” for randomized options—forcing strategic decisions under pressure and gamifying the entire experience. It’s a mechanic that feels instantly more engaging, shareable, and replayable.

“Truly, we’re a games company,” Patel said. “You see a lot of the other platforms out there that are really just based on Pick’em, when you scroll through it feels like a spreadsheet, a little oldschool.”

Their gameplay also solves real user pain points. Players get projected points even if an athlete is ruled out late, relieving the anxiety of last-minute lineup chaos. “They don’t have to worry about waiting until they’re close to game time,” Happas said. “We can really engage the consumer when they have time to go on our app and play.”

But FantasySpin’s differentiator isn’t just UX—it’s how that UX fuels growth. Happas pointed out that traditional betting apps offer little visual excitement in their ads, whereas the company’s gameplay is “super important” for advertising across social. 

“We can actually show the gameplay in the video… [social platform’s] algorithms are all about time spent watching that ad,” Happas said. “[Platforms like] Facebook say, this is much more relevant to you, now we’re going to give you more reach to an audience and lower our acquisition costs.”

FantasySpin is currently live in 25 states and was self-funded through its first full NFL season. Heading into its second year, the team is talking to investors, but noted they’re being selective and strategic about the capital they accept. “We’re in a good position to say, ‘who do we want to add to the table?’” said Patel.

Happas put it more bluntly: “Why not us… If we execute correctly and get funded properly, we can be a billion-dollar valuation.”

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