Interview with FanDuel's Cameron Boal on Their New Promotions
I recently had a chance to sit down with Cameron Boal who is the Head of Affiliates at FanDuel and has worked with online poker giant Full Tilt Poker. Since FanDuel has brought him on board, we’ve seen an increase in the overall promotions and prizes held at FanDuel. We recently got a chance to sit down with ‘FanCam’ and discuss the new Ironman Challenge, Tournament Kings Contest and his background in poker, here is what he told us:
Where did the idea for the Ironman Challenge and Tournament Kings Contest spawn from?
The idea for the Ironman Challenge and Tournament Kings contest really came
from thinking of ways we could give our most loyal users the best chance of making
the DFBC Final. We knew we were going to be running the Daily Fantasy Baseball
Championship for a while and originally we were just going to run it with the
weekly qualifiers. After a bit of discussion we felt we could add a bit more spice to
the DFBC at the same time as doing our best to look after our regulars. We based
them loosely on two of the more successful promotions used in the poker world.
So, what exactly is your background in the poker industry?
Prior to joining FanDuel I ran the affiliate department at Full Tilt Poker. I had been involved in poker for quite a while and was drawn to the Daily Fantasy concept as I believe there are a lot of similarities between the two industries. The DFS space reminds me a lot of online poker in the early 2000’s . Back then we were very aware that something big was just around the corner and I have that same feeling now.
How were these promotions received in the Poker industry?
With the vast numbers of users in online poker now it gives you a lot freedom to test and experiment with different types of promotions to find out what works best. As FanDuel continues to grow you can expect to see even bigger and better promotions.
I always remember that you could get a Poker Table named after you with a permanent reserved seat on Full Tilt via their IronMan Challenge. I thought that was so cool. What is the potential for challenges like these moving forward on FanDuel?
Currently at FanDuel you can already create your own private contests and name
them after yourself if you wish so I guess that’s similar to having your own table. We
are always looking to develop the social side of FanDuel so you can expect to see a
lot more social features coming over the course of 2011.
What do you think the Daily Fantasy Sports industry and the Poker industry have in common?
The most obvious comparison is the balance between skill and luck. Top DFS
players may go on bad runs but long term they will come out on top. I would even
say there is more skill in DFS because of the amount of stats and information
available for research. As FanDuel continues to grow I’m sure it won’t be long before
we start seeing professional Daily Fantasy players and who knows one day they
might have the same celebrity status as some of the top poker players have.
Which industry do you prefer working in more and why?
I loved my time in poker. I learned a lot, had some amazing experiences and made some great friends. I feel that online poker’s best days are perhaps behind it now, particularly with recent events in the US. FanDuel and the DFS industry is just
getting started and I see no reason why with a lot of hard work and bit of luck we can’t turn make the DFS world as big as online poker. Whatever the next few years hold I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of fun.
What has the response been from the FanDuel community so far?
So far the response has been great. Our players are generally very receptive towards
new promotions and contests. My biggest concern was that some people might not
fully grasp the concept of the IMC/TKC or think they were too complicated and
might not bother taking part. That hasn’t been the case at all, they’ve generated a lot
of excitement and we have received a lot of positive feedback.
How many Ironmen are qualified so far?
It’s early days in the Ironman Challenge and the Tournament Kings Contest. The IMC
only started on May 24th and runs till August 23rd. We allow users to take 7 days
off during the period so technically everyone still has a chance of qualifying even
players that sign up today.
How has the DFBC gone so far? What’s it like promoting the DFBC as compared to the FFFC? What are your plans for large promotions moving forward?
The first 2 weeks have been great and it’s performing even better than we expected.
Its nice to see a mix of new players and the regulars both doing well. The first week
we saw Nick Roos take home first place. He only signed up to FanDuel a couple of
days before the contest which is quite an amazing feat to come out on top against a
field of 763 entries – he admits that he’s played a lot of season-long fantasy but he
was new to daily. Last week FanDuel regular “uppower” won his seat in the final. I’m
sure we’ll see at least a couple of Grinders in the final.
Thanks to Cameron Boal and FanDuel for spending time with us on this interview!