Sportradar iGaming venture using Brazil as test market
Sportradar Leverages Brazil as a Strategic Test Market for iGaming Solutions to Accelerate Operator Growth
During its recent Q1 earnings call, CEO Carsten Koerl unveiled Sportradar’s strategic initiatives aimed at expanding its iGaming services within Brazil’s burgeoning market. The company has successfully onboarded 50 clients, providing comprehensive managed trading services and state-of-the-art iGaming marketing solutions.
“Our iGaming strategy in Brazil is centered around delivering a fully integrated 360-degree solution that fosters growth throughout the entire player life cycle. Through targeted advertising, we offer personalized, real-time marketing across various channels to swiftly and efficiently acquire bettors,” Koerl explained.
Sportradar’s iGaming Integration: A Natural Business Evolution
Sportradar has articulated that the expansion into iGaming is a “natural extension” of its core operations, which predominantly focus on integrated betting, trading, and sports data services.
“Our existing sportsbook clients rely on our marketing services as a crucial tool for customer acquisition. We are capitalizing on these established relationships as we navigate our burgeoning presence in the Brazilian iGaming market,” Koerl noted.
While acknowledging that it is still early in this venture, Koerl emphasized the company’s proactive approach to expanding its market portfolio and responding to client feedback.
“We are continuously learning from our experiences here. Our model integrates acquisition, retention, sports betting services, and iGaming solutions into a comprehensive 360-degree strategy,” he asserted.
“Once we have collected sufficient insights, you can expect to see this model scaled to other markets,” Koerl added.
Globally, Sportradar boasts 84 iGaming brands leveraging its marketing services to acquire and retain customers, positioning itself as a key player ready to scale these initiatives further.
In addition to its iGaming efforts, Sportradar has secured a multi-year partnership with the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation aimed at safeguarding competitions against match-fixing through its advanced universal fraud detection system. This collaboration also includes the provision of analytical metrics and dynamic visualizations for team coaching.
Sportradar’s Q1 Performance Highlights
Sportradar reported robust financial results for Q1, showcasing a year-on-year revenue growth of 17%, totaling €311 million ($345 million).
The group recorded a profit of €24 million, reflecting a 7.8% increase compared to the previous year, alongside a significant adjusted EBITDA growth of 25%, reaching €59 million.
Moreover, Sportradar achieved an impressive customer net retention rate of 122% during the quarter.
The company has also extended its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) through 2032, which permits Sportradar to continue distributing ultra-low latency official MLB data, media content, and audiovisual assets to its extensive client base.
“Throughout the quarter, we further strengthened our premier content offerings with the extension of our MLB partnership and signed an agreement to acquire IMG Arena’s sports betting rights portfolio,” Koerl stated.
“We are enthusiastic about the unique opportunities these valuable assets will bring to our clients and are committed to generating increased value for our shareholders from 2025 and beyond.”
Recently, Sportradar completed a deal to acquire Endeavor Group’s IMG Arena asset, transitioning it to Sportradar in a move that has Endeavor compensating Sportradar for taking over its business unit.
IMG Arena’s portfolio includes rights to 39,000 “official data events” and 30,000 streaming events. Upon finalization of this acquisition, Sportradar will hold betting rights to three out of four Grand Slam tournaments, solidifying its position in the global sports betting landscape.
