- PointsBet and Sportradar have announced a multi-year sports betting partnership covering data, trading tools and streaming video.
- Sportradar is one of the major players in international sports betting data aggregation and have partnered with many of the top leagues and sportsbooks worldwide.
- PointsBet is expanding throughout the United States and are now live in seven states with Virginia on the way.
As the US sports betting industry continues to grow despite fits and starts caused by boneheaded regulators and meddlesome politicians one of the clear winners has been providers of sports betting related data. This is a phenomenon witnessed during the early days of the Internet–as a variety of companies with a myriad of use cases battled for relevance, financing and market share companies that created the ‘plumbing’ of the Internet such as Akamai were among the first to become profitable. A similar dynamic is now at play in the sports betting ecosystem in North America. Data providers are able to avoid many of the headaches of sportsbooks such as regulation, taxation, client acquisition, etc. Although there is competition in this space, they’re not having to fight for every customer–instead, every company looking to operate a sportsbook–as well as many other types of companies such as sports media providers–need the data and other resources they provide.
Sportradar has quickly become a big player in the US sports betting industry while maintaining a strong position in the worldwide market. According to their website, they provide data services to more than 1,600 customers in over 120 countries while enjoying ‘official partner’ status with the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, FIFA and UEFA. They cover a massive 750,000 events annually over 83 sports. Most recently, they announced a long term global betting data partnership with the NBA that included the pro hoops circuit taking a small equity position in Sportradar. While it’s difficult to figure out the ‘long game’ of the US betting industry and all of the components therein one thing is certain–the need for betting data and ancillary products.
You can add the US division of Australian sports betting powerhouse PointsBet to the Sportradar client list. The two companies have just announced a ‘multi-year sports betting partnership that establishes Sportradar as PointsBet’s US supplier of choice for MLB, NBA, NHL, college football, and college basketball data.’ The agreement covers a lot of ground including pre-match and live betting solutions, pre-match odd suggestions, trading tools as well as live data. Additionally, the deal includes PointsBet access to the Sportradar Live Channel Online–a sports betting focused streaming video solution designed to enhance the experience of live betting (or ‘in running’ for you Europeans).
Here’s some of the specifics from the Sportradar press release announcing the deal:
The deal incorporates a range of Sportradar’s pre-match and live betting services, including pre-match odds suggestions, trading tools, and live data, as well as content solutions, such as live match trackers and live scores to engage audiences Furthermore, the deal includes Sportradar’s Live Channel Online, its live streaming solution designed to complement the in-play betting experience.
The agreement marks the sixth multi-year deal Sportradar has secured with a multi-state US betting operator for top-tier US sports data in 2021 alone, reinforcing Sportradar’s status as the industry’s leading source of comprehensive and reliable real-time sports data. PointsBet will leverage Sportradar’s products and services to continue expanding live, in-play betting opportunities for its customers as US betting trends further in that direction.
Over the next decade, the sports betting focused streaming space is going to become simultaneously lucrative and contentious. The various rights owners–sports leagues, teams, etc.–understand the huge revenue potential of betting focused streaming and will be looking to leverage it. At least initially, they’ll run into objections from analog era broadcasting companies such as the major TV networks and cable companies like ESPN. The dinosaurs of the broadcasting world will make a desperate play for exclusivity of broadcast rights hoping to force sports betting enthusiasts to ‘consume’ their media product on their terms.
In the long term, the course of history is working against the TV networks. At one point, they were an essential intermediary between sports rights owners (eg: leagues and teams) and viewers. Simply put, a NFL fan in the early 1970s needed a network like CBS or NBC to view games. That is no longer the case and although they still wield considerable power the legacy broadcast companies influence is decreasing dramatically with each passing year. The sports rights owners aren’t beholden to the TV networks–they’ll do what is in their financial best interest and increasingly that is found through channels well afield of traditional network and cable TV.
Neale Deeley, Managing Director, US Betting, Sportradar, is happy that his company continues to grow its influence in the new, potentially lucrative American market:
“Like Sportradar, PointsBet continues to strengthen its position in the US betting market. With the popularity of in-play betting exploding in the US, having fast, reliable, accurate data is critical to driving greater engagement amongst bettors. We look forward to working together to help PointsBet deliver a cutting-edge product to its consumers.”
Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA CEO, might give more press release quotes than anyone in the business. Here’s his take on the deal with Sportradar:
“The PointsBet team is unwavering in our commitment to providing the most comprehensive and fastest in-play betting experience. We are excited today to officially announce our partnership with Sportradar and look forward to enhancing those in-play betting capabilities alongside their team.”
Sportradar’s US offices are located in New York City. Hopefully, PointsBet will talk them into moving it to the real epicenter of US sports betting–Denver, Colorado. Sportradar’s corporate offices are in Switzerland with local and regional offices worldwide.
