Both data companies will have non-exclusive rights to distribute official NBA betting dataNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA has signed a pair of three-year deals for betting data distribution in the U.S. with Sportradar and Genius Sports, marking the league’s first pacts in this area. Both data companies will have non-exclusive rights to distribute official NBA betting data from NBA and WNBA games to licensed operators in states where sports wagering has been legalized. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal lengths were designed to sync up with the league’s previously announced three-year agreement with MGM Resorts Int'l. “Having official data being distributed broadly in a non-exclusive model like this is a big part of our regulatory framework,” NBA VP/Head of Fantasy & Gaming Scott Kaufman-Ross said. “This is going to be faster, more accurate data, and something that will make for a better experience for the fan and provides more protection for the integrity of our game.” Gaming operators such as MGM are end users of this betting data being distributed, and MGM and its partner GVC Holdings earlier this month announced a deal for Sportradar to be its exclusive U.S. sports data provider. Sportradar also has already held the NBA’s official data rights for betting data internationally. “Now adding these U.S. rights is a really important and strategic step for us,” said Sportradar VP/Legal & Regulatory Affairs Jake Williams. “The U.S. is developing to be a very unique market with lots of different types of operators, and having these rights really helps broaden our offering.”
BOOST FOR GENIUS: For London-based Genius Sports, the NBA deal also represents another significant boost in its American data distribution business after landing a 10-year deal with the NCAA last spring. “This a big validation of what we’ve been doing for a few years now,” said Genius Sports Chief Communications Officer Jack Davison. “We already have a rich heritage in basketball around the world, but adding the NBA to that portfolio completely amplifies that.” The NBA’s pair of deals arrives after the PGA Tour earlier this month signed an international data distribution agreement with IMG Arena, the recently formed sports betting unit of IMG Media. The Tour’s deal is a 10-year-plus agreement that sells a live data feed to bookmakers using its ShotLink technology and covers all global betting markets excluding the U.S. The Tour will consider a U.S. data deal as more states pass sports betting legislation.
