Lawyer Travis McCoy provided a particularly valuable presentation on the first morning of the FSTA summer conference Wednesday, detailing the nine states that have been giving fantasy companies trouble.

Louisiana has been the one in the news lately, but Arizona, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington all present gambling laws that either directly outlaw or create a fog of illegality concerning residents paying for a chance to win at fantasy games.

McCoy ran through the various specifics in each state’s law that presents trouble for fantasy. He related that despite differing language, it’s probably not safe at this point to residents of those nine states to compete in your pay-to-play games.

Beyond that, though, even free games can be tricky. Anti-gambling statutes tend to focus on participants risking something of value, which we tend to think of as a buy-in or entry fee. McCoy, however, pointed out that state courts have set the “something of value” bar pretty low — meaning that fantasy companies should be careful and probably seek legal advice in setting the parameters for even their free games.

Of course, the Louisiana story grew because of an effort to change that state’s rules. The stark failure of that effort and the fact that consecutive Maryland bills haven’t even reached a vote on the floor highlights the need for lobbying work from the fantasy industry.

Legal challenges could be possible, as McCoy pointed out — particularly in relation to the federal Commerce Clause. The Supreme Court has interpreted from that clause the “dormant” Commerce Clause, which McCoy summed up this way: “A state’s law may be ruled unconstitutional if that law places an undue burden on interstate commerce.”

McCoy said he would consider the restrictions on fantasy payouts in certain states damaging to interstate commerce.

The problem with challenging the laws is that it would be a costly, lengthy process whose outcome might be trickier. It would be open to judge interpretation of existing laws.

The lobbying front could work to educate and encourage politicians, seeking to push for introduction of new legislation — such as the bills recently presented in Louisiana and Maryland.

We saw the lack of knowledge about fantasy in Louisiana, where it took just a single e-mail blast from the misguided Louisiana Family Forum to scare off all but 16 House delegates. Rep. Thomas Carmody said he has no plans to pursue another bill, and he and his colleagues would have little motivation to pursue something that is a very minor issue to them and brings potential political downside.

In Maryland, a House bill has been brought two years in a row to legalize fantasy payouts. Neither iteration has even made its way to the floor for a vote.

We’ll see what the FSTA and companies throughout the fantasy industry decide to do going forward, but it’s becoming clearer that they need to do something.

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association announced Thursday afternoon that Big Game Software will serve as the title sponsor for the upcoming summer business conference.

Regular FSTA attendees will probably recognize the faces associated with Big Game but might not be familiar with the name. Big Game formerly operated under the title Fantasy Coverage and has shown up as a sponsor at the conference several times before. Fantasy Coverage now serves as a division of Big Game.

Other sponsors include MyFantasyLeague.com (last summer’s title sponsor and current backer of the Wednesday night outing to a White Sox game) and SportsDirect. Other spots remain available, according to the FSTA.

A perusal of the agenda for the upcoming FSTA summer conference turns up a very familiar face in the middle of Day 1 who will be delivering a different message.

Dr. Kim Beason has long been a regular presenter at the semi-annual Fantasy Sports Trade Association gatherings, talking through his latest results in fantasy consumer research. Before he gets to that this time, however, Beason will be joining Peter Schoenke of RotoWire to discuss “changing trends in fantasy football.”

“Have you ever wondered how popular IDPs and team QBs are?” the agenda teases. Yes, actually, I have quite a bit. I will be very interested in hearing what Beason has to say here.

Other points of interest include:

– a session with Andrew Brandt, current president of the National Football Post who formerly handled player contracts and salary-cap management for the Packers, to discuss the realities of the NFL’s current labor unrest and how a potential lockout might impact fantasy companies

– a “one-on-one” with Mickey Charles, president and CEO of The Sports Network

– a screening of Fantasyland over lunch on Day 1

– a two-room split on the conference’s second day, dividing into panels geared toward technical aspects and those focused on business; the latter ends with a session on shedding the “gambling” perception, an issue we’ve been particularly focused on around FSB.com recently.

The conference will take place June 9 and 10, with the fantasy football draft kicking things off the night before.

The FSTA also announced Tuesday a blog that will carry posts by Sara Holladay, the Fantasy Football Librarian, throughout the conference. Of course, you can also count on FSB.com for all the news from the Chicago event.

(Correction: A previous version of this story referred to Brandt as a former president of the Packers. He never held that title.)

A roundup of items recently posted on the FSB News page.

– May 10 signals the end of the early-bird sign-up period for next month’s FSTA conference in Chicago. After that, the registration fee jumps $150.

– Just in case you were wondering (and I know you were), Andy Roddick plays fantasy baseball — and apparently isn’t too pleased with the way his season is starting out.

– You might remember us writing about RosterSlots.com a couple of months ago. Even if you don’t, the site opened its inaugural baseball season late last week, which creator Peter Wikander has always planned to be the site’s centerpiece.

– After going twice weekly with its fantasy baseball offering last year, Fantazzle is offering daily and weekly contests in 2010. The site has also launched its FanStock platform, a system for awarding points to frequent users.

– Fantazzle is also looking for a full-time employee to head its sales operation.

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