NBA delivers ultimatum to US Sportsbooks

According to ESPN, US sportsbooks had received a data ultimatum from Sportradar. Operators are now expected to pay a fee for official data or will lose the opportunity to offer a proper roster of in-play wagering markets of NBA matches to bettors.

Sportsradar is an official supplier of NBA data to US sports betting operators in states where such activity is legal. In the letter, obtained by Legal Sports Report, the company informed that “only Authorized Gaming Operators of the NBA are eligible to receive the NBA Official Data Feed” for wagering in betting-friendly states. The NBA data feed is used by sportsbooks to run live betting options throughout the game.

MGM, FanDuel, and The Stars Group are 3 official sportsbook partners of the National Basketball Association with access to their data feed. According to rumours, NBA as well as Major League Baseball (MLB) expect sportsbook operators to pay 0.25% of a betting handle on their respective sports for a rights to become official league partners.

If Sportsradar and NBA demands won’t be met, The NBA is expected to freeze out unauthorized sportsbooks from accessing the league’s official data feed before game 1 of the NBA finals on May 30.

Figures released last week by New Jersey’s gambling regulator showed that basketball wagers accounted for $28.4m (32.5%) of the state’s betting handle over the first four months of 2019. Also, more experienced European markets already proved that in-play wagering eclipse pre-match betting in both turnover and operator revenue.

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