Sportradar Signs Deal with BetMGM for its NBA Optical Tracking Data

Examining Sportradar's deal with BetMGM for its NBA Optical Tracking Data.

James Bisson

Last updated: October 30, 2023 12:54 PM EDT • 3 min read

BetMGM Sportsbook, one of our best sportsbooks and betting sites, announced on Oct. 25, 2023, that it is entering into an expanded partnership with Sportradar, the leading global sports technology company for its industry-best products and services including its official NBA optical tracking data.

The deal gives BetMGM a chance to beef up major sports betting markets including NBA in-play wagering, player prop markets, and same-game parlays. It will also, through Sportradar’s products and services, allow BetMGM to leverage NBA optical tracking data.

"Sportradar's league data has enabled BetMGM to enhance our product offerings since we first partnered with them in 2018," said BetMGM Chief Product Officer Jarrod Schwarz. "We expect the upcoming NBA season to be outstanding and look forward to leveraging this data for years to come."

Not the first Sportradar deal of its kind

Sportradar has been the exclusive provider of NBA data worldwide since 2021 and has the rights to all NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA G League data.

Eduard Blonk, Chief Commercial Officer at Sportradar, said of the expanded partnership with BetMGM, "We're pleased our value-add products and services will unlock the potential of NBA optical tracking data for BetMGM, while supporting the return-on-investment of our partnership with the NBA."

Sportradar's products and services have been and will continue to be a major part of NBA offerings from more of our best sports betting apps. It has a similar data partnership with the No. 1 sports betting provider in the U.S. market, FanDuel. Back in July, Sportradar extended a data partnership with Caesars Sportsbook to enhance its NBA betting markets.

At that time, Sportradar CCO Ed Blonk said: “As in-play betting increases in prominence in the U.S., the fast, accurate, and reliable data that Sportradar curates will play a critical role in contributing to Caesars’ efforts to maximize revenue opportunities.”

In August came a deal with U.S. Soccer that will see Sportradar getting exclusive rights to collect, license, and distribute the sport's wagering and media data.

Looking ahead at the potential

For BetMGM, sprucing up its NBA betting markets, particularly the in-game betting opportunities was key. Thirty NBA teams play 82 games in a regular season that runs from Oct. 24 to April 14. The league presents BetMGM a ton of action for which the sportsbook can take advantage of.

Maximizing the immense wagering opportunities that the NBA presents is a win for both sides of the partnership.

BetMGM also has expansion on its mind, with the Sportradar brand hopefully following them to the United Kingdom. The NBA is increasingly a global game with bettors in Europe a valuable target market for the likes of BetMGM. Sportradar, it is hoped, will help BetMGM capture a respectable market share in European markets.

The U.S. legal sports betting market has become a very competitive business. BetMGM is clearly in the second tier behind DraftKings and FanDuel, with ESPN BET is about to explode onto the scene. BetMGM will continue to look for its opportunities to gain on the biggest legal sports betting apps, and to bolster its wagering products is certainly a necessary step.

Written By:
James Bisson

James Bisson is the Editor-in-Chief of Sportsbook Review. He has been a writer, reporter and editor for more than 20 years, including a nine-year stint with The Canadian Press and more than five years at theScore. He has covered dozens of marquee events including the 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2006 Stanley Cup final and Wrestlemania 23, and his work has appeared in more than 200 publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, Yahoo! Sports, the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. His book, “100 Greatest Canadian Sports Moments”, was a hardcover best-seller in Canada in 2008 and earned him appearances on CBC Radio and Canada AM. He has written more than 50 sportsbook reviews, more than 200 industry news articles and dozens of other sportsbook-related content articles. A graduate of the broadcast journalism program at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), James has been an avid bettor since the early 2000s, and cites bet365 as his favorite sports betting site due to its superior functionality and quick payouts. His favorite piece of sports betting advice: "Stay in your lane. You're much more likely to have success betting sports you know, and focusing on finding angles and edges there."