- MaximBet has signed a data and technology deal with Genius Sports.
- Genius Sports will provide PreMatch, LiveData and LiveTrading solutions.
- MaximBet is a partnership between Carousel Group and Maxim Magazine.
To this point, sports betting has been hugely lucrative throughout North America for everyone except the sportsbook operators. The sportsbook operators have to fight their way through a phalanx of cronyist politicians, the legacy casino industry, the tribal gaming industry and bone-headed yet meddlesome regulators. The ancillary businesses that have sprung up around sports betting–marketing, data, media, etc.–are able to now leverage the popularity of sports betting that has always been there but can now be talked about in polite company.
Data may be the most lucrative component of the sports betting industry to this point. Sports leagues sell data rights to third party companies who then resell it to sportsbooks, media, etc. Since the entire industry runs on data, they’ve got plenty of customers. In some markets, sportsbooks are required to use ‘official league data’ and this is a good situation for the data aggregators. A sportsbook can operate without ‘official betting partner’ status with a league. It just means they won’t have official logos all over their marketing materials, which might be nice to have but has never limited sportsbooks in the past. They can’t operate without a variety of data sources, even if they’re not mandated by regulators.
Genius Sports is one of the data aggregators seriously benefiting from the current environment. They’ve recently announced a wide ranging partnership with MaximBet–that’s the sportsbook offering from Carousel Group and the publishers of Maxim Magazine. They’re currently live in Colorado and have plans to add a number of new markets during the next year. Here’s the scope of the deal:
NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Genius Sports Limited (“Genius Sports”), the official data, technology and broadcast partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, has secured an extensive new partnership with MaximBet.
Across thousands of events a year, Genius Sports will provide MaximBet with its official data-driven PreMatch, LiveData and LiveTrading solutions to deliver real-time feeds and pin-point pricing. MaximBet is a privately-held, licensed sports betting and iGaming operator that launched last year in partnership with iconic, international media company, Maxim.
As for Genius Sports, they name checked all of their affiliated sports leagues:
Genius Sports will provide MaximBet with the highest quality content for some of the largest competitions in world sports, including NASCAR, NCAA, EPL, FIBA and the NFL. MaximBet will have access to Genius Sports’ full NFL product suite, including access to the league’s real-time statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) and official sports betting data feed. As the official data partner to the Mid-American Conference (“MAC”), Genius Sports will also provide MaximBet with the first and only official data feed for betting on NCAA sports.
In addition, Genius Sports’ digital marketing solutions ‘will also help MaximBet run highly targeted, data-driven campaigns to attract, engage and retain new customers.’ Daniel Graetzer, CEO & Founder, MaximBet, is pleased to be working with such a versatile company:
“A premium betting experience requires the best and most exclusive content which makes Genius Sports the ideal partner for MaximBet as we ramp up for growth across North America. We are the only true lifestyle sportsbook, offering players incredible, money-can’t buy access to MAXIM parties, courtside seats and more. Combining that with the real-time data our players need gives them a full offering not found elsewhere in the marketplace.”
Sean Conroy, Executive Vice President, North America of Genius Sports, added this comment:
“Across official data, trading and highly targeted marketing, Genius Sports will play a central role in powering MaximBet’s exciting growth across the U.S. We’re excited to help engage and expand MaximBet’s passionate customer base.”
I like MaximBet a lot. I’ve dealt with several of their PR people and they’re all extremely effective and generally nice people. The Maxim Magazine brand may no longer be a dominant print publication in the US, but there really *aren’t* any dominant print publications in the US. It still does very well internationally with print sales and it’s done a very good job of transitioning to an online-centric business model. Their demographics are made to order for sports betting. The biggest challenge they face is the same one that every other sportsbook from outside of the legacy betting industry faces–being able to launch in enough jurisdictions despite politicians and regulators best efforts to protect cronies and financial benefactors.
