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How AI is redefining sports betting 

By - 10 January 2025

Artificial Intelligence will make the biggest impact on sports betting since the Internet became widely accessible. Full stop. Sportradar’s Luka Pataky, SVP, Automated Content, explains why the technology is critical to shaping and powering the type of experience operators offer to customers now and in the future.    

Just how heavily the industry has already leaned into AI will become clear at ICE 2025 this month, as operators and suppliers come together to showcase their latest products and services. I expect to see a diverse range of AI-driven innovations that, amongst other things, enable sportsbooks to drive operational efficiencies, achieve a better understanding of customers, and deliver increasingly personalised betting experiences. 

Being back at ICE gets me thinking about Sportradar’s AI journey and how our use of the technology has evolved over time. The last time I attended the event two years ago, I was overseeing a series of table tennis matches to highlight how our Computer Vision (a subset of AI) capabilities would enable the next generation of betting products and services. Now, although the industry was switched onto the potential of Artificial Intelligence in 2023, there was some uncertainty as to whether Computer Vision) could be used for data collection in sports betting and how it could add added value to operators. And, while the table tennis demonstration drew a positive response from crowds at the event, there were questions as to whether the technology could collect data at the level of accuracy and speed required for a live sports betting offering. 

At the same time, some of our industry peers viewed the application of Computer Vision within table tennis as relatively straightforward.  Given the set-up of the sport – two players, positioned at opposite ends of a nine-foot (or thereabouts) table, moving in a defined space – developing AI models for table tennis was seen as more manageable.  The AI could readily follow and interpret the players’ movements.  I understand these perspectives. The industry was experiencing the benefits of advancements in AI – using the technology for cost saving purposes and enhancing customer experience – and they wanted to see ‘more’ from Sportradar, given our status as the sports industry leader in technology. But there’s a bigger picture to consider. 

A lot of our work in table tennis has been to prove the value of enhanced engagement for our operator clients. We know the value of data and understand the appetite there is for betting markets, but the future opportunity is in the creation of value-add engagement tools that operators can use to increase session time and open new revenue streams. It’s our ability to contextualise millions of raw data points through sophisticated AI models at ultra-low latency and develop content that bettors want to engage with that’s transforming the industry. We are creating innovative solutions ranging from state-of-the-art visualisations to enhanced in-game betting markets, redefining the standard of fan engagement and creating new opportunities for our clients. 

And that brings into focus Sportradar’s presence at ICE 2025. Our use of AI continues to move forward. We’ve adjusted the parameters of our AI-models for team sports and I’m looking forward to showcasing those cutting-edge capabilities through a 3×3 basketball demonstration. We have a purpose-built basketball court set-up at the venue, with two teams scheduled to play a game every hour. 

We’re using Computer Vision to analyse the players’ movements and collect the depth and quality of data required to fuel a broad range of next generation engagement tools. 

Guests at the stand will see, in real time, how Sportradar uses its technology to collect, process and contextualise the player tracking data that underpins our next generation of hyper-immersive, hyper personalised live betting products, including 4Sight, Live Match Tracker, retail audio visual streaming with betting statistics, and a custom-built micro betting game. Data collected during these live games will be used across the stand to demonstrate how our live products work and how they can enhance a sports betting offering. This includes everything from live odds to trading to ad:s. It’s an example of how Sportradar’s Artificial Intelligence underpins an unrivalled product portfolio that drives benefit for operators across the whole sports betting value chain.

Sportradar’s journey with AI over the past two years highlights how the technology is accelerating the transformation of the sports betting industry. In this new era of sports technology, AI is more than a tool – it’s a genuine game changer. And we’re leading the way, using the technology to redefine the sports betting experience to make it more exciting and more engaging for the fans every step of the way. 

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