1. duopoly might suggest more pricing power/moat than what it actually had. I think data source (NBA, NFL, etc) holds the real power in this setup.
2. my gut feel is most sports gamblers would consider real-time data a nice to have (not saying it doesn't offer advantage) thus this BtBtC model might not have strong demands. just a gut feeling, coming from most casnio goers don't check which slot machine offers the best odds.
1. I think the offset there is that they're a global business. The EPL dispute (which is an interesting story, didn't really have room to cover here though) is something that too could raise costs, but the two big sports for them are soccer and tennis. They have UEFA and ITF, and smaller leagues may not have quite the pricing power of the NFL in the US (for example).
It's impossible to predict accurately right now but I think they're positioned OK there.
2. Well, for live betting you need pretty close to real-time data bc the odds are going to move every point in tennis, every play in American football, etc. The books in the US also are pushing cash-out a lot, which is basically live betting, and they need real-time for that.
I think most sports gamblers don't really think about it at all - but if they were without it quite a few would be upset. And given what live is those few are probably more profitable than most.
I don't know what it's like in the US but in the UK live betting is pretty popular. People 'trade' football (soccer) matches and horse races in-play just like they trade stocks.
"for live betting you need pretty close to real-time data bc the odds are going to move every point in tennis, every play in American football, etc."
I assumed (might be incorrectly) if a gambler engaged in real-time betting, s/he was watching the game. and I thought (could be incorrect) the data is not surface level score data, rather more sophisticated one(such as running distance, fouls counts, etc)
on US vs Europe, good point. again, I was winging (saying) it with no deep insights, as I have some peripheral interests (i.e. casinos)
Well, that more sophisticated data in the game coverage might be coming from Sportradar, too, via their media customers (incl ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky, etc.) They own Synergy Sports now, which does some crazy things with basketball using in-arena cameras and tracking.
But that aside, the point is that the customer here is the sportsbook, not the gambler.
And the sportsbook needs real-time data for live betting because otherwise they have a massive potential liability. If they're getting data from a video feed, the latency involved means I can physically go to the game and have quite an edge. I might be a play or two ahead of them. As soon as I see, say, a long pass land in a wide receiver's hands, I can bet his team and probably get it in at pretty positive expected value. And if they simply delay taking the bet until their feed catches up, then the business doesn't really work, because people watching are on different enough times (via streaming, cable, satellite, etc.) that it becomes a giant mess.
So, as constituted right now, the data really is a must for live betting. As a result, I think their pricing power is stronger than the market believes. Longer-term, as their capabilities get better — and latency improves for gamblers watching these matches — the hope is that live betting has more detailed and interesting bets to offer, beyond (say) "will the third pitch of this at-bat be a ball or a strike?"
And that's where the possibility for value-based pricing comes in, where Sportsradar says, "we've got these really cool bets you can offer that you couldn't before — and since they're going to drive volume we deserve a higher cut."
yeah, I think that's big reason to at least be intrigued - it's been treated like a US play though it isn't one (to be fair, the Euro operators are struggling too though)
Thanks, interesting write-up! Anecdotally, I'm originally from St.Gallen in Switzerland and was very curious which hometown company, with MJ-backing suddenly does an IPO on Nasdaq, so I went to check out! I believe this a great company with good prospects but I hold my investments back after I just found a mailbox. My visit taught me clearly more about the business model of the local government than about the company!
my pushbacks are:
1. duopoly might suggest more pricing power/moat than what it actually had. I think data source (NBA, NFL, etc) holds the real power in this setup.
2. my gut feel is most sports gamblers would consider real-time data a nice to have (not saying it doesn't offer advantage) thus this BtBtC model might not have strong demands. just a gut feeling, coming from most casnio goers don't check which slot machine offers the best odds.
1. I think the offset there is that they're a global business. The EPL dispute (which is an interesting story, didn't really have room to cover here though) is something that too could raise costs, but the two big sports for them are soccer and tennis. They have UEFA and ITF, and smaller leagues may not have quite the pricing power of the NFL in the US (for example).
It's impossible to predict accurately right now but I think they're positioned OK there.
2. Well, for live betting you need pretty close to real-time data bc the odds are going to move every point in tennis, every play in American football, etc. The books in the US also are pushing cash-out a lot, which is basically live betting, and they need real-time for that.
I think most sports gamblers don't really think about it at all - but if they were without it quite a few would be upset. And given what live is those few are probably more profitable than most.
I don't know what it's like in the US but in the UK live betting is pretty popular. People 'trade' football (soccer) matches and horse races in-play just like they trade stocks.
"for live betting you need pretty close to real-time data bc the odds are going to move every point in tennis, every play in American football, etc."
I assumed (might be incorrectly) if a gambler engaged in real-time betting, s/he was watching the game. and I thought (could be incorrect) the data is not surface level score data, rather more sophisticated one(such as running distance, fouls counts, etc)
on US vs Europe, good point. again, I was winging (saying) it with no deep insights, as I have some peripheral interests (i.e. casinos)
Well, that more sophisticated data in the game coverage might be coming from Sportradar, too, via their media customers (incl ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky, etc.) They own Synergy Sports now, which does some crazy things with basketball using in-arena cameras and tracking.
But that aside, the point is that the customer here is the sportsbook, not the gambler.
And the sportsbook needs real-time data for live betting because otherwise they have a massive potential liability. If they're getting data from a video feed, the latency involved means I can physically go to the game and have quite an edge. I might be a play or two ahead of them. As soon as I see, say, a long pass land in a wide receiver's hands, I can bet his team and probably get it in at pretty positive expected value. And if they simply delay taking the bet until their feed catches up, then the business doesn't really work, because people watching are on different enough times (via streaming, cable, satellite, etc.) that it becomes a giant mess.
So, as constituted right now, the data really is a must for live betting. As a result, I think their pricing power is stronger than the market believes. Longer-term, as their capabilities get better — and latency improves for gamblers watching these matches — the hope is that live betting has more detailed and interesting bets to offer, beyond (say) "will the third pitch of this at-bat be a ball or a strike?"
And that's where the possibility for value-based pricing comes in, where Sportsradar says, "we've got these really cool bets you can offer that you couldn't before — and since they're going to drive volume we deserve a higher cut."
This was my favorite one yet. I was surprised the US gambling market wasn’t their top region
yeah, I think that's big reason to at least be intrigued - it's been treated like a US play though it isn't one (to be fair, the Euro operators are struggling too though)
Thanks, interesting write-up! Anecdotally, I'm originally from St.Gallen in Switzerland and was very curious which hometown company, with MJ-backing suddenly does an IPO on Nasdaq, so I went to check out! I believe this a great company with good prospects but I hold my investments back after I just found a mailbox. My visit taught me clearly more about the business model of the local government than about the company!
Hmm that's interesting. Makes me want to check out their other locations!