Sports data company Sportradar continues to ink deals with major sports partners, this time announcing its first foray into the world of motorsports.
Sportradar’s deal with MotoGP
MotoGP is retaining Sportradar and its Integrity Services package. It is part of a multi-year deal with the world’s premier motorcycle racing league.
It’s the first such deal involving integrity monitoring as it relates to sports betting for any motorsport.
Starting in 2017, the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 seasons will be monitored by Sportradar. Monitoring services are part of a wider multi-year integrity partnership.
As part of the deal, Sportradar gains access to MotoGP data that will allow it to monitor betting movements and patterns across the MotoGP seasons. Sportradar will provide education and prevention workshops for MotoGP. It will also launch an e-learning program for all riders and teams.
Why integrity monitoring for MotoGP?
While MotoGP is a popular sport worldwide, it doesn’t attract a huge amount of betting action. Still, the two companies said in a joint release on Wednesday that it’s best to be proactive.
“Prevention of any problem is always more prudent than cure and for sure betting related sport fixing is a problem,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP parent company Dorna Sports. “It is a problem that thankfully has not hit our sport but it is one that is causing real concern across other sports worldwide.
“We do not want to get to the point where we are remedying a problem that has encroached onto motorcycle racing, if we can avoid it by being proactive and resolute. This is what this partnership is about: about education, about deterrence and about defenses.”
Andreas Krannich, managing director of integrity services for Sportradar, echoed Ezpeleta’s sentiments.
“We do speak to sports who feel distant or immune to the problem of fixing. That is not MotoGP’s stance,” Krannich said. “They have been inquisitive, invested and definitive. They have sought the full suite of our Integrity Services to ensure that no stone is left unturned and that no compromises are made.
“We look forward to working with them and their stakeholder for the next few years and helping them keep MotoGP an example of best practice in the world of motorsports”.
Other deals for Sportradar
The MotoGP caps a busy 2016 for Sportradar. It announced similar deals with a pair of North American sports leagues: the NHL and NBA.
The NHL deal and Sportradar signed a deal in August; the NBA deal came in September. The latter deal is worth a quarter of a billion dollars, according to reports.
Both deals involve Sportradar monitoring integrity of the leagues’ games as it relates to sports betting worldwide.
