In sports betting, official betting refers to the bets that are based on data collected by a sports league or its designated partners. It can include statistics, results, and outcomes gathered through an agreement between the governing body and a licensed operator. This data can be used for a variety of bet types, including totalizators and if bets. The odds on these wagers can change in real-time as bettors place their wagers, depending on the share of action each possible outcome receives relative to the total exchange.
The issue of official data has become a flashpoint for state lawmakers, especially after the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA and legalized sports gambling in many states. A growing number of states have included provisions for official data in their new sports betting laws, though the American Gaming Association opposes legislative mandates for the information.
Amid overarching concerns for player privacy, the unions of professional and college athletes have rebuffed attempts to collect, store, and monetize their biometric data. However, the NBA and MLB have begun to forge private commercial agreements with sportsbooks that allow them to use official data.
As the popularity of online sports betting continues to grow, more and more states are establishing regulated markets with a wide variety of choices for bettors. Some of these new markets are launching with existing sportsbooks that have undergone brand changes, including Hard Rock Bet in Florida. In other cases, a newly launched book may offer a redesigned app with a sleek UI and robust loyalty program for customers.
In some of these markets, the legal definition of official data includes statistics and other information gathered through an agreement with a governing body of a sporting event or sports league, organization or association whose corporate headquarters are located in the United States. In addition, the data must be provided in a timely manner and must comply with any applicable federal or state laws. This definition may prove a hurdle for some sportsbooks who want to provide bettors with the most accurate data.
Sportsbooks offer a variety of bets, including moneylines and over/unders on specific games. They also offer a wide range of props, or proposition bets, on individual aspects of a game. Props on individual players, for example, require the player to throw a pitch or make a plate appearance for wagers on that player to pay. In addition, bets on game totals must reach 8.5 innings unless the game is shortened or suspended before that point for the bets to pay out.
The growth of legal sports betting has made the need for a comprehensive set of rules on data collection more urgent than ever before. But defining the terms of the debate requires further clarity on who will collect the data and what information will be considered official. The answers to these questions could determine how much value official data has, if any, for operators and bettors in the coming years.