After a single week of not having their attachment to the NFL’s in-game data feed, many Vegas sportsbooks are expected to have things back to normal for Week 6.
Many of the Vegas sportsbooks receive a signal from Stadium Technology Group, a third-party Nevada software provider, which gives them access to in-game NFL data. Last Thursday, before the Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks matchup, that access was cut off to the Nevada sportsbook.
A few of these sportsbooks actually manually input data to their own systems without the help of Sportradar. Unfortunately, there were other sportsbooks that didn’t even offer any in-game betting on Sunday’s slate of NFL games.
As ESPN reported, Nevada sportsbooks had a Sept. 30 deadline to pay an extra fee for continued access to the NFL’s official data feed. In fact, Sportradar threatened to cut off access to the signal for MLB and NBA in-game betting earlier this year, but this was the first time the company actually followed through on its threats.
Back in August, Sportradar forged a partnership with the NFL, as the company got exclusive rights to distribute the league’s official betting data to sportsbooks across the United States and certain other countries across the globe. In Nevada, there were numerous sportsbooks that already had contracts with Sportradar that were drawn up before their current deal with the NFL.
For a grand total of $5,000, the Nevada sportsbooks that already have existing contracts with Sportradar will continue to get the NFL’s feed for the rest of the season.
More Disputes
There was also another dispute last week when William Hill US became the fourth authorized sports betting operator to have a deal with the NBA. In the past, William Hill US CEO Joe Asher has been hesitant about compensating the professional leagues for their official data. Although, he did backtrack on those remarks, saying that he would pay an additional fee if it meant that his company’s products would improve.
Even though there has been some disagreement between sportsbooks and Sportradar, many sportsbooks are now saying they were already going to pay the additional fees. As the Sept. 30 deadline approached, apparently, there were sportsbook operators that needed to look over bylaws related to the changing of fees and get the paperwork back to Sportradar.
CG Technology Sportsbooks, which operates sportsbooks at six different Las Vegas resorts, got everything done in time and had the feed available for Week 5 of the NFL season.
Even with the alleged ceasefire between the two sides, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few sportsbooks hold out. This winding road could drag all the way out to the 2020 MLB season, which has numerous data providers, unlike the NFL.
Nonetheless, there are a few different companies that have expiring contracts with Sportradar, and those still need to be ironed out. By the time the next NFL season rolls around, things could be a lot different on the Vegas sportsbook landscape – and possibly the rest of the world.
