Before a sportsbook can offer you a live prop bet on whether the next pitch is a strike, it needs official, millisecond-accurate data from inside the stadium. That data does not come from the league. It comes from one of two companies, and right now one of them is being sued in federal court for deciding who gets to compete.
The Business Nobody Talks About
Sportradar and Genius Sports together form what rivals describe as a duopoly over official live sports data in the United States. Sportradar holds official data rights with the NBA, MLB, NHL, and ATP, among others. Genius Sports controls the NFL’s exclusive data feed, along with agreements covering 400-plus leagues globally. Every real-time prop bet, every live line movement, every in-play settlement at DraftKings, FanDuel, or BetMGM flows through one of these two companies first.
Industry reports commonly peg in-play betting as roughly half of global online wagering volume, with growth expected to remain in the double digits. That one statistic is why the data infrastructure underneath it is worth fighting over in court.
The Antitrust Case That Could Reshape the Market
Sports technology firm Sportradar Group AG was sued in federal court in a dispute tied to access to official U.S. sports betting data. Altenar alleges that Sportradar backed away from supplying Altenar with certain official league data for the NBA, NHL, and MLB, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Altenar’s claims center on Sportradar’s role as a principal betting data supplier for the NHL, NBA, MLB, and ATP, accusing the company of manipulating the price and availability of U.S. sports data and alleging this restricts competition in breach of Section 2 of the U.S. Sherman Act.
The case has taken an additional turn. Sportradar is attempting to force private arbitration in Zurich, citing a binding clause contained in a master partnership agreement signed with Altenar in 2021. A judge must now decide if Altenar’s claims will be heard publicly in the U.S. or sent to private arbitration. The outcome matters far beyond Altenar: a public U.S. antitrust ruling on data exclusivity would set a precedent for every sportsbook technology provider trying to enter this market.
The Financials Make the Stakes Clear
Sportradar posted record full-year 2025 revenue of €1,290 million, up 17%, with adjusted EBITDA rising 33% to a record €297 million. Those margins reflect the pricing leverage that comes with controlling something sportsbooks cannot legally operate without.
Genius Sports is smaller but accelerating. The company generated $669.5 million in 2025 revenue, up 31%. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance has since been raised to $1.005 to $1.025 billion following its acquisition of Legend. Despite those figures, GENI shares remain down sharply from where they traded a year ago, still closer to the spring 2026 lows than to last year’s highs, even as the company points to strong revenue growth in 2026.
The Investment Case
The gap between GENI’s operating momentum and its stock price deserves attention. A market cap of about $1.3 billion against roughly $1 billion in projected annual revenue, with improving EBITDA margins and a fresh JPMorgan initiation last week, creates a valuation disconnect that is hard to ignore for patient investors.
Sportradar (SRAD) is the cleaner, larger position: profitable, cash-generative, and defended by the kind of exclusive league contracts that take years to renegotiate. Its $1 billion share repurchase authorization signals management confidence. The antitrust case introduces headline risk but does not change the underlying data rights structure in the near term.
The broader risk is regulatory. If Altenar wins in New Jersey, it could force Sportradar to license data on non-discriminatory terms, compressing the pricing power that drives those record margins. Watch for a venue ruling first, likely before year-end, as the clearest signal of whether this litigation has teeth.
Wealth Takeaway
Every time a bettor taps a live prop bet on a Sunday afternoon, a royalty flows to one of two companies most investors have never heard of. Sportradar and Genius Sports are the toll collectors on the fastest-growing lane in sports entertainment. The antitrust case now pending in New Jersey is the most consequential threat to that business model in either company’s history. Understanding what you own, and what that ownership depends on, is the real work here.