Official betting is a form of sports wagering in which bettors place wagers on the outcome of a sporting event, either during or after the event. It is a type of wagering that can be placed at online and offline sportsbooks. Some of the types of wagers available include straight bets, exotics, and if bets.
The United States Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting in 2018. Since then, state governments have been allowed to regulate legalized US sports wagering. This includes allowing sportsbooks to accept bets and pay out winnings.
Many states have implemented a regulated betting market, while others haven’t. In Nevada, sports books have operated without any mandates for years and the state has paid no handle-based fee to sports leagues for the use of their data.
Legislators across the country are pushing for mandated use of official league data in sports betting. This has sparked a battle between operators and the leagues over what data is required for wagering.
Mandating the use of official league data has been a top priority for leagues and other stakeholders in the industry. It’s a move that would provide the leagues with direct control over sports betting data and, ideally, allow them to monetize the data by charging a “integrity fee.”
The integrity fee is a mechanism for ensuring that bettors are not taking advantage of illegal betting activity or committing fraud when placing bets. It is a direct cut off the top of the sports betting handle and is the leagues’ preferred way to collect a share of the profits from sports betting in the U.S.
Some operators have argued that the integrity fee is too low and would result in an unfair advantage for those who place bets on games based on their knowledge of the game. The leagues, however, argue that the fee should be a small percentage of total bets and that it should be subject to some form of oversight to ensure that the integrity of the betting process is not compromised.
In February 2018, the NBA and MLB began lobbying for a data mandate that would allow them to control the flow of US sports betting data. The leagues were able to secure the first such mandate in Tennessee, which passed the law in May 2019.
According to the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), the leagues want a mandate to ensure that only official data is used by sports books. In addition, they want to make sure that the data is accurate and timely.
In the United States, the NCAA and the PGA Tour have data partnerships with Genius Sports and Sportradar, respectively. The leagues are also trying to establish relationships with private companies that can provide real-time sports data, as well as in-play betting statistics.