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

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