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Swiss data provider Sportradar is getting a piece of the North Carolina online sports betting pie.
The company announced it has earned a supplier license in the Tarheel State, which allows it to provide “services, goods, software, or other components necessary for the creation of sports wagering markets and determination of sports wager outcomes” to sportsbook operators.
Simply put, the license allows Sportradar to provide data to North Carolina online sportsbooks.
How Sportradar fits in with North Carolina sports wagering
Generally speaking, sportsbooks across the country hire data companies like Sportradar to provide accurate, real-time data for sporting events. For example, a company like Sportradar could provide an online sportsbook with in-game player stats that fuel the sportsbook’s in-game bets.
Additionally, Sportradar can offer sportsbooks a live stream of competitions, pre-and post-game data, and odds.
The company’s licensing could prove lucrative, as North Carolina is shaping up to be a massive market for sports betting. Based on population, the state could see total bets exceed $400 million in the first year, with $500 million being a possibility.
It shouldn’t be difficult for Sportradar to find sportsbook partners, either. The company is well-known in the industry and already has partnerships with the following leagues and sportsbooks:
- NBA
- MLB
- NHL
- NASCAR
- UEFA
- FanDuel
- DraftKings
- Caesars Sportsbook
Any partnerships the company signs in the state should happen quickly, as online sports betting is ready to launch in North Carolina on Monday.
Who are Sportradar’s potential partners?
As of today, there are eight licensed sports betting operators in North Carolina:
- FanDuel
- DraftKings
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- ESPN Bet
- Fanatics
- Bet365
- Underdog Sports
Caesars is already accepting bets from anyone placing a bet while physically located on land owned by its partner, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
In theory, Sportradar could announce partnerships with any of the state’s eight sportsbooks. However, we’ll likely see it work with FanDuel and DraftKings, two sportsbooks with which it already has a relationship.
How will Sportradar make North Carolina sports betting safer?
Data is at the core of US sports betting. Many bettors place their wagers based on data they get through a sports betting app. This is especially true when making in-game bets. The data has to be accurate and as up-to-date as possible.
That’s where a company like Sportradar comes in. Not only does it provide accurate data about sporting events, but it also leverages AI to identify suspicious betting patterns.
For example, its recent report on betting corruption and match-fixing in 2023 found that, of the roughly 850,000 sporting events it monitored this past year, it found 1,329 “suspicious” competitions. All but 34 of those suspected events took place in men’s sports.
When Sportradar finds suspicious betting patterns or game outcomes, it works with sportsbooks and local or federal authorities to identify bad actors. In 2023, the company’s efforts produced 147 criminal sanctions.
“Continued investment in the development of technology is key to detecting otherwise hard-to-find occurrences of match-fixing,” Sportradar Executive Vice President Andreas Krannich said in a Sportradar press release. “In combination with access to account-level data, collaboration across the industry, and human experts, we have a suite of powerful tools to help both prevent and detect risks to sports integrity.”
