The Supreme Court recently overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a federal law that banned sports gambling in nearly every state outside of Nevada. Leaving states to choose their own legal path in regards to sports wagering opens multiple doors within the sports industry, including sports media.
The roughly $150 billion wagered illegally on sports each year in the U.S., according to the New York Times, now has the potential to be bet in the open, either in person at newly opened sportsbooks around the country, or online. New Jersey and Delaware already have opened sports betting to visitors of some casinos, and multiple other states like West Virginia are on the cusp of providing their own legal sports wagering services.
It’s true the full potential of legalized sports gambling could take many years to realize as states ponder the benefits and weigh the ramifications of opening new on-site and online sports books. But the possibilities alone have the sports media industry buzzing.
That doesn’t mean sports media companies will necessarily be new to the sports gambling market. STATS currently provides its data, viewed as the fastest and most accurate in the industry according to an independent Northwestern University study, to outlets such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The daily fantasy sports (DFS) giants rely on the up-to-the-second updates to power their games and keep fans engaged to wager more money on their websites and apps.
STATS also has multiple legal international and European gaming clients using its data feeds to provide their users with relevant information for handicapping and matchup analysis prior to placing wagers. Historical data from STATS also is used for betting research purposes in order to give a deeper look into the sports players place wagers.
Being an oddsmaker is not something STATS or other sports data companies are known for, but what STATS has done better than anyone else in the industry is provide the necessary data and tools to remove subjectivity when setting lines to drive balance to wagers. Ultimately, sportsbooks bound to open around the U.S. are going to demand low-latency data that is – above all else – perfectly accurate to bring bettors back again and again.
And beyond the already established success of distributing data to help power the sports gambling industry, STATS’ investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning has positioned it to create even more opportunities in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
STATS’ award-winning predictive analytics team has created and is constantly improving unique, propriety algorithms that have given the sports world new insights into potential outcomes, such as win probability, matchup odds and player performance projections.
A perfect example: The New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 21-3 at halftime of Super Bowl LI before making a historic comeback to win 34-28 in overtime. A major, nationally recognized company put the Patriots’ halftime win probability at 4.1 percent. STATS had it a 6.2 percent.
Subtle differences in calculations accounted for the percentage difference, which was fairly wide for the sake of win probability metrics. STATS’ predictive data scaled through A.I. can provide sports books and media companies with unique content that will entice more customers and set themselves apart as they gradually capitalize on the legalization of sports gambling in the U.S.
STATS always has supported the decision of the government to legalize sports gambling in the U.S., and its revolutionary A.I. will enhance the sports gambling industry for on-site and online wagering throughout the country.
