Artificial intelligence isn't a promise for the future—it's very much a part of the present

On July 5, 2023, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) awarded Sportradar the exclusive rights to audio-visual (AV) content and betting data, with the aim of enhancing the accessibility and engagement of South American soccer with a broad and discerning global audience.

Sportradar, founded in 2001, is a global leader in sports technology that creates immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Positioned at the intersection of the sports, media, and betting industries, the company offers sports federations, media outlets, consumer platforms, and sports betting operators a range of world-class solutions to help grow their businesses.

In September 2021, Sportradar founder Carsten Koerl and basketball star Michael Jordan, an investor in the company, rang the bell to mark the start of trading on the Nasdaq. This milestone confirmed Sportradar’s leadership as a partner to leagues such as the NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UEFA, FIFA, Bundesliga, ICC, and ITF, with which Sportradar covers nearly one million sporting events annually.

We spoke with Mateo Lenoble, who has led Sportradar’s Latin American sales division since 2015, about the iGaming industry.

Sportradar's core business is providing data for sports betting. What does this mean?

At Sportradar, we collect data from sporting events. We use that data to generate odds, payouts, and other information that we send to bookmakers. Sportradar provides the information that forms the core of bookmakers’ operations. We’re the backbone of the bookmaker. The work that nobody sees. When you visit an online site, you see the site with all the sports, all the games being played, and all the odds. Well, all that information comes from Sportradar.

Movies like *Moneyball* and the current boom in sports betting highlight the fact that data and statistics are at the heart of sports. How do they gather information on various sporting events?

Data collection is part of a cycle that begins with pre-match odds. A person can then visit an online or brick-and-mortar betting site and place a bet before the game starts. From there, bets are collected and the odds shift depending on how strong one market is compared to another. If many bets are placed on one market, the other must be raised to balance things out—that’s before the game. Then, during the live game, we have a scout watching the match on the field or via a live TV feed with no delay.

The Scout transmits real-time information about what is happening. That information is sent to an operator in Montevideo, who uses it—along with data on the match and the market—to calculate the betting odds. This information is fed back to the bookmakers, and as users place live bets, various actions are taken to balance the bets. When the match ends, betting closes. At that point, the statistics of what happened in the match are analyzed, and odds are set for that team’s next match based on those statistics as well. That’s why I say it’s a self-reinforcing cycle: pre-match, live, results.

In which leagues do they compete? Do they provide services throughout Latin America?

Just because we’re based in Montevideo doesn’t mean we only work with Latin America. We handle markets all over the world. We have 30 offices located around the globe, as well as four live operations centers—one in Montevideo, two in Europe, and one in Asia. From these live operations centers, we send out quotes for all markets.

You were just talking about how important it is to have no delay in the broadcasts you monitor. For a tech company like Sportradar, what are the benefits of working at ZONAMERICA?

There were several factors that led us to set up operations in ZONAMERICA. First and foremost is the tax advantage offered by ZONAMERICA, which makes it attractive to companies that operate internationally. Second is the stability of the services provided by the park. As you rightly pointed out, Sportradar is a technology company. Therefore, support, data quality, and internet connectivity are vital to the company’s growth. The services and predictability provided by ZONAMERICA give peace of mind not only to Sportradar but also to our clients.

Why did they choose Uruguay as their home in the region?

Because of the talent. The workforce in Uruguay is highly competitive, skilled, and multilingual. All of our employees speak Spanish and English. Keep in mind that initial support is provided in English, so this is vital for us. I’ll tell you more: when comparing internationally with Sportradar’s other offices, the results we’ve achieved in Montevideo are very good. That’s why the company started with 10 people and today we have over 340. One thing is important to clarify: we started with just two departments—pre-match and live betting. Today, the company has more than 10 departments covering different products.

What departments do you have?

We have pre-match betting, in-play betting, and monitoring. The monitoring team is responsible for checking the quality of the data that the Scout sees. This is very important, as the Scout is the first point of contact for in-play betting, and we have to ensure that the data is accurate. We also have a scheduling team that assigns each operator the matches they will handle and the Scouts the matches they will cover. One of the most important departments in the company is Integrity. At Sportradar, we work to detect match-fixing to protect the sport. Imagine that the first ones affected by a fixed match are our customers—so we have to protect them.

What expansion plans do you have for the future?

In 2019, we designed our new offices and moved in 2020. The catch was that the pandemic broke out on the very day we had planned to move. So we had to postpone the office opening. There are options for expansion because the office was designed for 250 people, and today we have more than 340. We need to decide whether to expand within the same office space or acquire additional office space within Zonamerica. What is clear is Sportradar’s sustained growth year after year.

Where is the industry headed?

I’d say the most notable aspect is our investment in artificial intelligence. This is a major draw for bettors and our customers. We’re investing in the creation of betting sites similar to Netflix. When you sign up for this platform, the system already knows your location and is aware of the trends in Uruguay. After watching one or two movies, Netflix can share recommendations based on your tastes, the actors involved, the movie’s genre, the director, and so on. We’re already using this type of AI-driven process for betting sites. From the moment a bettor registers, they receive trends from the country where they’re registered. Then, as they place their first bets, the system begins to understand the user’s preferences. From that point on, it is able to suggest options similar to their behavior. Artificial intelligence is not a promise for the future; it is very much a reality today, and companies are investing heavily in it.