In a newsletter sent to its members this morning, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association announced that the fantasy sports industry has grown to a staggering 29.9 million people now actively playing in the U.S. and Canada and $800 million spent directly on fantasy sports products. This is based on a survey conducted by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) and their survey partner Ipsos.

The complete results of this survey will unveiled on today at the FSTA Business Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Chicago, which takes place today and tomorrow.

Other interesting statistics:

• 11 percent of those in the U.S. and 10 percent in Canada, aged 12 and above have played fantasy sports.
• Consumers spend $800 million directly on fantasy sports products
• These same fantasy sport enthusiast/consumers also spend an additional $3 billion worth of media products related to the hobby (such as DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket and XM Radio’s coverage of all MLB baseball games).
• Teens out-pace adults in the U.S. and in Canada in terms of the population playing fantasy sports: 13 percent of teens in the U.S. play compared to 14 percent playing in Canada.

It should be interesting to see what other statistics this survey reveals in the Chicago conference. For more information, go to the FSTA website.