Stats Perform and Sportradar, two global providers of media and betting data, have agreed to partner in order to deliver official WTA tennis data, which will power Sportradar’s in-play tennis odds and trading services outside of the US.

Sportradar sports betting customers, who have obtained a Stats Perform WTA data licence, will have access to premium ultrafast in-play WTA tennis odds, powered by Stats Perform’s transformative new scout-collected detailed data or the umpire data feed.

The agreement between the sports data giants further broadens access to tennis betting experiences powered by official WTA data.

Stats Perform secured the exclusive official WTA data rights in November 2020 in a breakthrough six-year deal, simultaneously expanding its Watch&Bet video streaming service to cover every match on the women’s tennis tour for the first time.

Similarly, the addition of official WTA tennis data to power Sportradar’s portfolio of services is a first for its customers, bringing full official coverage of the top tier of women’s professional tennis alongside its other official tennis partnerships.

Stats Perform is committed to improving both the depth and the availability of official WTA data to help grow the profile of the WTA by giving more fans and bettors access to innovative and trusted products.

Andrew Ashenden, Stats Perform Chief Betting Officer, said: “Our ground-breaking approach to collecting and distributing high quality official WTA data as part of our exclusive agreement is not only broadening the appeal and accessibility for fans and bettors, but also making it more accessible to them. Our progressive deal with Sportradar exemplifies this.”

David Lampitt, Managing Director Sports Content and Partnerships at Sportradar, said: “This deal delivers a great enhancement to our extensive portfolio of tennis content. But more than that, it demonstrates what can be achieved through a constructive and innovative commercial approach, even between fierce competitors.

“Collaborating with Stats Perform in this way improves our Live Odds and Managed Trading Services for WTA events and represents a significant development for the industry more broadly.”

US media giant Fox Corporation is reportedly interested in acquiring Australia-based Tabcorp’s wagering and media business. 

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Murdoch family-owned Fox is liaising with other investors, including bookmaker Matthew Tripp, regarding a potential bid for parts of Tabcorp. In February Tripp re-entered the Australian gambling market, investing AU$25M (approx. €16.3M euro) in wagering software and data company BetMakers. 

Despite the report, Fox has not yet officially made any offer to Tabcorp, which is also currently considering at least two other offers, from British gambling giant Entain, and US private equity firm Apollo. 

Indicating its intent to establish a foothold “Down Under”, Los Angeles-based Fox Corporation recently registered the FOXBet trademark in Australia.

Camelot, the operator of the UK’s National Lottery, has announced its support for the Team GB Olympic and ParalympicsGB teams ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Team GB and ParalympicsGB say they have conducted a comprehensive review of their operations to ensure athletes are met with COVID-secure environments to prepare for the games – which were postponed last year due to the global pandemic. 

Camelot says that every time a player buys a National Lottery ticket, they will be helping provide “life-changing support to Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Since National Lottery funding for elite sport began in 1996, over £2.8 billion has been invested in supporting British Olympic and Paralympic sport.

Nigel Railton, CEO of Camelot, said: “We’re delighted to support TeamGB and ParalympicsGB during what has been an extraordinary period for the whole of the UK. Throughout the pandemic, the safety and wellbeing of our employees has been our number one priority – so it seems fitting that this partnership will not only help ensure that the nation’s athletes are met with Covid-secure environments as they prepare for the Games, but will also give our employees further opportunity to be at their best every day.”

Andy Anson, CEO of the British Olympic Association, said: “The nation has been heavily impacted during the last 12 months and the Tokyo Games provide an amazing opportunity to generate a positive message.

“The support of Camelot is timely in ensuring that we’re able to maintain the world class environment for our athletes in Tokyo whilst incorporating the vital additional infrastructure to make sure our facilities are Covid-secure for our athletes and to allow them to reach the ‘start line’ in the best possible condition.

“We’re also excited to work with Camelot and their staff on our innovative wellness programme and share the lessons learned from the success of Team GB.”

Mike Sharrock, CEO of British Paralympic Association, said: “Like so many organisations the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the British Paralympic Association and this partnership with Camelot will help ensure we can deliver world class preparation and Games time environments to empower our athletes to achieve their goals this summer.

“Tokyo 2020 is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and we are confident ParalympicsGB can help unite and inspire the nation once again.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s great to see Camelot supporting the British Olympic efforts, but as we’ve said before, it is far too early to assume the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over. With new variants popping up almost daily, surging infections in many countries, and great uncertainty as to whether the vaccination program will be successful, it’s easy to see why many, especially in Japan itself, are saying holding the games this year would be grossly irresponsible – indeed, two recent surveys put Japanese opposition to the games being held this year at more than 80%.

With so many people around the world already seeing the Olympics as a huge gravy train and waste of money, can the International Olympic Committee really afford to run the risk of instigating a disaster by going ahead with the games this year?

Betting operator Tipico has announced a four-year extension to its partnership with FC Bayern Munich.

Tipico has been a partner of the Bundesliga club since 2015, and will now remain so until 2025. 

“We are very happy to continue this successful partnership. Tipico is the market leader in its field, and we at FC Bayern are always interested in working with the best in their respective industries. It is our ambition to always be number one – and this partner fits that bill,” Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge, CEO of FC Bayern, said.

“Tipico stands for passion, trust in the team and the unconditional desire to improve every day. It is similar with FC Bayern Munich: the passion, the desire to win and quality of the team has seen this club become one of the most successful football clubs in the world. The extension of our trusted partnership is a very clear commitment to these shared values, and we are very happy about it,” Marlon van der Goes, Chief Commercial Officer at Tipico, said.

The surging popularity of mobile betting and gaming in multiple African markets, and the impact of the trend on operators, is set to be a central theme of this month’s SBC Digital Africa conference and exhibition.

The online event on 30 – 31 March will see a speaker line-up consisting of 60 senior executives and specialists will share valuable insights and ideas on the emerging opportunities in the online space and the future of the land-based industry across the continent. 

Retail bookmakers remain central to the industry in most markets in Africa, in part because of their status as community hubs that provide jobs and meeting places where sports fans gather to watch big soccer games.

However, improvements to internet infrastructure, growing adoption of smartphones, and the sharp rise in the usage of mobile money services have made online betting an attractive option for operators. Internet usage stats from African nations with regulated online markets suggest the proposition is even more attractive to local players. 

Semrush data shows that Bet9ja.com is the second most visited website in Nigeria, behind only Google and just above Facebook, while BetKing.com is eighth on the list. Significantly, 97.7 per cent of Bet9ja.com’s traffic comes from mobile.

It is a similar story in Ghana, where Betway.com.gh occupies second place in the top ten most visited websites, behind Google and above YouTube. SportyBet.com and  betPawa.com.gh also make the list, in sixth and seventh places respectively. 

The SBC Digital Africa agenda will examine the market situation in both nations as part of the ‘Emerging West Africa’ conference track. 

The ‘Nigeria: Generation Bet’ session will look at why so many people in the 18-40 age group are now active sports bettors and assess how the industry can improve service levels and player safety provisions for that demographic. ‘Ghana: Africa’s Next Big Market’ will see an expert panel assess whether betting operators have fully explored the opportunities in what is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. 

Nations in East and Southern Africa are also seeing similar internet usage and Semrush’s top ten most visited website lists for Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania each feature a sportsbook. 

Those traffic trends are reflected in search data. For example, Google Trends data for 2021 shows that Betika is the second most common search query in Kenya, with SportPesa and OdiBets in the top ten, along with Livescore and the prediction site Forebet. Meanwhile, betPawa is the most common search query in Uganda and the third most common in Tanzania, while Hollywoodbets is the fourth most used search query in South Africa.

SBC Digital Africa will also address the latest market developments in those territories as part of the ‘East Africa Opportunities’ and ‘Established South Africa’ conference tracks. 

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of event organiser SBC, said: “The internet is transforming Africa’s betting and gaming industry by creating easier access for players, simple payments processes, and a whole new customer experience.

“This growing popularity of online gambling presents a host of opportunities for operators, affiliates and suppliers, but it also poses a new set of challenges, not least to regulators and retail bookmakers. The 60 expert speakers at SBC Digital Africa will draw on their on-the-ground experience of working in the continent’s varied markets to share valuable information about the changes now happening in them and ideas for how companies can respond effectively.”

Away from the virtual conference rooms, delegates will be able to see the latest innovations from sportsbook, casino and payments suppliers in the interactive product display area, and join networking roundtables to connect with fellow delegates with shared business interests. 

To find out more about SBC Digital Africa and to register for free, please visit the official website.

FIFA, in collaboration with the United Nations on Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has launched the Global Integrity Programme – a comprehensive international programme aimed at providing all 211 member associations with enhanced knowledge and tools to fight and prevent match manipulation.

In line with FIFA’s overall vision of making football truly global, as well as its ongoing commitment to protecting and promoting the integrity of the game, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme is designed to improve education and build integrity capacity within all 211 member associations by sharing advanced know-how and resources with integrity officers. The programme also reflects the UNODC’s objective of supporting governments and sports organisations in their efforts to safeguard sport from corruption and crime.

With the objective of setting up successful and sustainable integrity and anti-corruption initiatives at local level, the new programme is organised regionally per confederation and includes a series of three-module virtual workshops to be delivered to all FIFA member associations. The first edition of the programme, dedicated to the member associations from the Asian Football Confederation, started with the first module on 4 March and will continue with the second module on 16 March.

Speaking about the FIFA Global Integrity Programme, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Match-fixing is an issue that is very real and threatens the integrity and credibility of football in many countries around the world. Working in close collaboration with experts at the UNODC and alongside other ongoing efforts that FIFA is taking, the FIFA Global Integrity Programme is another important step by FIFA to protect the integrity of football and will play an important role in educating and building capacity within member associations to help fight match-fixing at a local level.”

Alongside the FIFA Global Integrity Programme, FIFA has also announced today that it will shortly be launching the FIFA Integrity Officers Community Platform. This will be the first-ever community-driven online platform dedicated exclusively to integrity officers across all member associations and confederations worldwide. This confidential platform will bring together a global network of integrity officers to share their experience and exchange best practice related to preventing and fighting match manipulation and promoting integrity in football.

FIFA’s Global Integrity Programme is in line with The Vision 2020-2023: Making Football Truly Global, which reaffirms FIFA’s commitment to fighting match manipulation by implementing integrity initiatives and reporting mechanisms, as well as setting up dedicated educational programmes. As part of its ongoing integrity initiatives, FIFA signed a memorandum of understanding with the UNODC in September 2020 to step up their joint cooperation to address the threats posed by crime to sport.