Sportradar Purchases Optima, Eyes U.S. Expansion

After extending their partnership with the NFL, Sportradar, one of the biggest sports betting information has made another move to expand their reach in the industry with the acquisition of the sports betting platform company, Optima.

The purchase of Optima will advance Sportradar’s industry share to become a full-service platform business that offers B2B data, trading, betting and player management. Optima will also enrich Sportradar’s expansion into iGaming by providing access to sports data, risk management and marketing services.

“This acquisition puts us in a prime position to achieve our aim of becoming the world’s leading supplier of modular turnkey betting services and solutions,” said Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar.

“Optima utilizes the very best-in-breed technology to provide their clients with the most advanced and flexible platforms and having a 360-degree product portfolio is a key part of our future growth strategy. We are delighted to welcome them to the Sportradar family.”

Source: businesswire.com

Sportradar will continue to offer their services as stand-alone options to operators and their current partnerships will not be affected directly by the purchase of Optima.

What Products Does Optima Offer That Interested Sportradar?

Optima’s stable of services include a world-class sportsbook known as the OptimaMGS Sportsbook module that offers in-game betting for up to 300 live game and a wide variety of betting options including proposition wagers.

The company also has a fully-integrated iGaming platform that offers thousands of online casino games, currency processing software and unique promotional marketing tools.

“Optima joining Sportradar is the next natural step in the achievement of our company vision. Sportradar is an organization that I have admired for a very long time, and we couldn’t be happier to be joining forces with them,” said Jacob Lopez, Chief Executive Officer of Optima.

“There are numerous and evident product synergies between the two companies and it really is the perfect fit in terms of a fully integrated one-stop shop solution for sports betting and e-gaming operators around the world,” Lopez added.

Source: businesswire.com

Why Is Sportradar Becoming Bigger Through Acquisitions?

Sportradar’s acquisition of Optima signals another massive partnership for the company that began in August when the sports data company extended and expanded their arrangement with the NFL.

The data company provides gaming operators with real-time statistics during the NFL’s games for an annual fee. Recently, Sportradar cut off their data stream to sportsbooks who had not paid for the company’s services, causing many casinos on the Las Vegas Strip to pull their in-game betting offerings.

The move to withhold the data showcased the company’s power over operators in the in-game betting section of the industry.

At the time of the announcement, Hans Schroeder, COO of NFL Media, said that

“Sportradar has been an excellent partner for the last four years and has provided the league, our teams, and media marketplace with innovative data products.”

Source: sportradar.us

Executives with Sportradar have conceded that the deal with Optima will integrate well with their NFL partnership as they expand into the ever-growing market in the United States.

Sportradar CEO Carsten Koeri told SBC News,

“One of the key reasons behind our decision to acquire a platform is because of the ongoing emergence of legalized betting markets, such as in the US.”

Koeri added that the agreement is “in line with some of our core objectives, we believe this will lead to a more transparent and nascent sports and betting industry worldwide and, ultimately, we want to help our sports and betting clients to reap the benefits.”

Source: insidersport.com