[Mr KLC]

The new deal will begin with the 2019 season, encompassing media and gaming rights on a domestic and international level. The MLB will be moving into a new era as Sportradar will have exclusive distribution rights for the real time gaming statistics of the MLB, with data collected from every ballpark.

The data is collected via the MLB proprietary technology and stat operators. The data will then be transmitted to regulated operators of sports betting as well as media companies. Sportradar will have exclusive rights to allow the company to distribute game feeds to gaming operators located outside the United States in areas where sports betting is legal.

Executive Vice President, Gaming & New Business Ventures for the MLB, Kenny Gersh, commented on the new partnership by stating: “A high-quality, reliable, and fast official data feed is the building block to creating engaging gaming products for MLB fans. Sportradar, a proven industry leader in data distribution, is perfectly positioned to help MLB deliver an exceptional Official MLB betting feed. We are excited about the opportunities that this partnership will unlock as the sports betting landscape continues to unfold in the U.S.”

Baseball’s agreement with Sportradar comes with “sports integrity” services.

“Sportradar will be monitoring and analyzing every MLB game via its award-winning fraud detection system and providing MLB with educational components, as well as access to its intelligence and investigations services,” the league’s news release said.

In other words, Sportradar will run millions of bits of betting and game data through its algorithms to ferret out anything that does not look kosher.

[Mr KLC]

Investors in Sportradar include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the private equity firm TCV, Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

The deal with MLB comes on the heels of two deals in late November. Most recently, Sportradar came to terms with the NBA and Genius Sports on a deal to allow Sportradar and Genius Sports to distribute official NBA betting data to licensed sports betting operators in the United States. Just prior to that, Sportradar and Fox Sports cut a deal that would let the network’s broadcasters bolster their in-game programming with real-time and historic sports data.

As gambling has become more prevalent since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2017 ruling, the value of Sportradar will continue to increase. And the $44 million that Leonsis, Cuban and Jordan plunked down in the company via Revolution Growth three years ago will likely become one of the smartest investments in recent history.

[KVB]