NFL expands deal with Sportradar to provide data to sportsbooks

Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 years ago

Los Angeles Rams' Blake Bortles throws a pass against the Oakland Raiders during the first half ... — Los Angeles Rams’ Blake Bortles throws a pass against the Oakland Raiders during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Oakland Raiders’ Nevin Lawson, right, breaks up a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams’ Alex Bachman, left, during the second half of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Oakland Raiders’ James Butler (36) rushes against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A year before the Oakland Raiders move to America’s gambling capital in Las Vegas, the NFL has embraced legal sports betting in an expanded partnership with Sportradar announced Monday.

Since 2015, Sportradar — a live sports data provider based in Switzerland — has been the NFL’s exclusive distributor of official play-by-play statistics and the NFL’s proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) player tracking data to media outlets.

The renewal allows Sportradar to distribute the NFL’s real-time official licensed play-by-play data and NGS data to legal sportsbooks in the United States and internationally. The books can use the live data for their increasingly popular in-play wagering, where odds are constantly updated during games and bettors place wagers throughout.

Sportradar also will have the right to distribute live audio-visual NFL game feeds to regulated sportsbooks in select international markets.

“Sportradar has been an excellent partner the last four years and has provided the league, our teams and media marketplace with innovative data products,” Hans Schroeder, NFL Media’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Sportradar to deliver fast, accurate official league data that will innovate and improve experiences for our fans across platforms.”

The NFL had long opposed sports betting, even after NFL owners in March 2017 approved the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas by a 31-1 vote. After the vote, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, “We still strongly oppose legalized gambling. We will not compromise on the integrity of our game.”

The league has changed its stance since the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting in May 2018. In January, the NFL made Caesars Entertainment its first official casino sponsor.

The NFL also will use Sportradar’s integrity services division to monitor betting on all NFL games, including the preseason.

MGM Resorts was the first official casino partner of the NHL, NBA and MLB.

Sportradar is an official partner of all four major North American pro sports leagues.

“It was only a matter of time before we were going to see that (NFL) deal,” Westgate sportsbook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how it moves forward.”

Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.