When it comes to distributing stats to fans, fast "isn't fast enough for the NBA anymore" now that the U.S. Supreme Court has "opened the door for states to allow wagering on games," according to Tim Reynolds of the AP. The league has "upgraded its stat systems in the past year to try and get its data out as close to real-time as possible." The NBA's stance is that getting accurate stats to bettors is "critical so the player knows what they're betting on and the casinos will know when to pay out or not." But how much "value that data has" for casinos "remains unclear." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "met with betting officials in Las Vegas earlier this month, and how data should be provided was one of the topics on the agenda." The NBA "switched last year to software" provided by London-based sports data service Genius Sports, which "collects and distributes official data for dozens of sports federations around the globe and even recently completed a deal to work with the NCAA." The NBA data collected by Genius has been "distributed globally" by Sportradar, which "sends it to media outlets, broadcasters and betting outlets outside the U.S." The NBA said that Sportradar is now "working on obtaining the ability to send the data to U.S.-based betting entities" (AP, 7/17).
