FanDuel has secured official league data for the NFL.
The US sports betting giant FanDuel has extended its partnership with the data supplier Sportradar giving the sportsbook access to official NFL league data.
With its latest agreement, FanDuel now has access to data from all major US sports leagues from Sportradar.
What did FanDuel and Sportradar say?
Niall Connell, General Manager of FanDuel Sportsbook, said: “We’ve been long-time partners with Sportradar, a company that shares a unique vision of engaging with sports fans, so extending the depth of our partnership with Sportradar was a natural next step. Continuing to use Sportradar stats will allow us to further deliver on our promise of improving the experience for our customers.”
Neale Deeley, Vice President of US Sales and Gaming for Sportradar, said: “FanDuel has been an excellent partner, and we’re pleased to expand our relationship with them. FanDuel remains on the forefront of the betting and gaming industry and consistently delivers for its loyal customers. We look forward to continued success together.”
More official data deal likely in the future
FanDuel is one of the first major US sportsbooks to sign up for Sportradar’s NFL data feed and as previously mentioned has access to all major US sports data from the data supplier.
Looking forward it is likely that other sports betting operators will aim to secure official league data feeds. This is because several states that have recently legalised sports betting have stipulated that operators must use official league data.
At the time of writing, the sports wagering laws in Tennessee, Illinois and Virginia all require the use of official league data for online betting. If an operator hopes to establish a presence in either of these states, they will need to use official league data.
Preparing for the return of football
This deal with Sportradar is another indication that the US sportsbooks are preparing for the return of football later this year.
Earlier this week, the NFL’s Denver Broncos announced a partnership with FanDuel, making the operator an official partner of the team.
Shortly after this, the Broncos also announced a deal with BetFred, which will see the construction of a sports betting lounge at Empower Field at the southern end of the Mile High Stadium in time for the start of the 2020 season.
The NFL and betting
Prior to the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, NFL teams were prohibited from working with gambling operators.
However, since then the league has begun to warm up to the idea of working with casino and sports betting operators.
In May, the NFL updated its rules allowing its teams to partner with sports betting companies. Prior to this teams could partner with casino companies and fantasy sports providers. DraftKings, for instance, is the NFL’s official daily fantasy partner but does not have a deal for sports betting.
