As fantasy sports grew from groups of friends using newspaper statistics and primitive computers to annual drafts that became a central event in the lives of fantasy players, a number of entrepreneurs saw the potential to provide services to this expanding audience. The number of sports with fantasy games also expanded, creating a year-round need for services and content. By the mid-1990’s, Fantasy Insights and Fantasy Football Weekly were hosting meetings and conventions in Nevada, Minnesota and Florida. With the rapid growth of fantasy leagues, and the companies that serviced those league, issues also arose. When legislation was proposed in 1997 that would treat fantasy sports as gambling CDM Fantasy Sports invited other industry leaders such as Sportsline, Prime Sports Interactive, Sports Buff Fantasy Sports, and The Sporting News to St. Louis to discuss how to respond to this threat. That group communicated during the next year and tracked the legislation.

At a Fantasy Insights Convention in 1998, a meeting was organized to again discuss legislative issues and other industry topics. Representatives from CDM, Fantasy Insights, EA Sports, The Sporting News, and USFANS created an official organization to help promote fantasy sports. The new Fantasy Sports Trade Association held its first official conference in 1999, and has now been serving the industry for the last 15 years.