Month: February 2024

As a result of the merger, the companies will become one merged entity. The combined company will go on to supply live horseracing data from more than 100 tracks across 11 countries.

The entity will supply viewers with live and post-race tracking data. TPD‘s in-play odds will also be made available to racecourses worldwide.

In addition to the merger, the companies announced a shake-up of their management team. TSD founders Carlos Santo and Sebastian Scholz will join TPD’s board. Here, they will assist with managing a global team comprising of more than 40 people.

Brad Higgins, executive director at TSD is set to lead APAC sales. John McBroom, commercial director at TPD will lead global sales.

Horse racing competing for attention

Will Duff Gordon, CEO of TPD said the merger improves TPD’s existing offering.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome the passionate and determined tripleSdata team to create a global champion of racehorse tracking and revenue generation,” he said. “We are aware that today’s consolidated bookmakers seek the maximum amount of product from each partner, and we’re pleased to add three more countries of top class racing to the existing eight.”

He added that the horse racing industry is increasingly competitive, and that focusing on tracking content can improve its offering.

“As with all industries and sports, the sport of horse racing is having to compete hard for attention, TPD and its racecourse partners share a vision that the tracking content can make the sport more appealing, and in the process make betting more fun.”

Santo said the merger will see both companies provide a high-quality data product to customers.

“This merger brings together two visionary companies dedicated to pushing the boundaries of possibilities through technology and poised to unlock new opportunities and expand our product offerings,” said Santo. “This marks the beginning of an exciting journey.”

“Together, we will continue to innovate, adapt, and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape, delivering unmatched data solutions and experiences to our customers and stakeholders in the racing and wagering industries.”

The IBIA, which identifies potential sports corruption through detecting suspicious betting activity, received 184 alerts in 2023. This was a significant decrease on 2022’s revised number of 285.

The IBIA accounts for over $137bn (£108bn/€126bn) of global betting turnover per annum, making it the largest operator-run integrity monitoring body.

Football and tennis were the sports most affected, with 63 and 54 alerts respectively. While tennis alerts have decreased over the last five years, football alerts have now risen for the last three years.

Europe was the area with the most alerts in 2023, accounting for 61% of reports. The UK had the most alerts with 31, while the Czech Republic was second with 18. Brazil and Spain tied for third with 11.

The IBIA’s work saw 74 matches proven to be corrupt, with 21 sanctions handed out. Of the 21, eight were tennis players while seven were tennis umpires. Despite football’s prevalence in its reports, the IBIA’s work only helped to sanction one football club.

Khalid Ali, IBIA chief executive, said: “The fall in last year’s global alert numbers is encouraging.

“It confirms that our world leading monitoring and alert network is making a very important contribution to deterring criminals from seeking to defraud our members, and that increased collaboration between IBIA, sports and regulators is a winning combination.

“Despite this progress, we must remain vigilant and recognize that the greatest threat to sports integrity comes from unregulated operators, most notably in Asia.”

Sport sanctions for corruption

The IBIA’s report comes after a busy start to the New Year for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). On Tuesday, the ITIA handed down a provisional suspension to Bosnian official Damjan Dejanovic.

Dejanovic is the latest to face charges for breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP), after the ITIA banned Bulgarian official Stefan Milanov for 16 years earlier this month. They found him guilty of a series of corruption offences for five matches he umpired in 2021.

The ITIA also banned French player Leny Mitjana for 10 years after finding him guilty of corruption and match-fixing offences. The case was linked to a recently concluded criminal case involving a match-fixing syndicate in Belgium.

Syndicate leader Grigor Sargsyan was recently convicted and handed a five-year custodial sentence. This followed a joint effort between the ITIA and Belgian authorities.

In mid-January, the ICC banned Bangladesh cricketer Nasir Hossain from all cricket for two years after breaching the Emirates Cricket Board’s Anti-Corruption Code.

Marlon Samuels, a two-time T20 World Cup winner with the West Indies, also received a six-year ban from the ICC back in November for anti-corruption breaches.

Announced today (31 January), the deal will see LeBron share insights on football, as well as a number of select events.

Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings said that partnering with LeBron was a privilege for the operator.

“Welcoming one of the most influential and greatest athletes of all time, LeBron James, to the DraftKings family is an absolute honor and privilege,” Robins wrote on LinkedIn.

The partnership will result in opportunities for sports fans and fans of LeBron to further engage with DraftKings’ product offering.

“We look forward to working with a passionate sports fan who shares the same competitive mindset that echoes throughout the walls at DraftKings, while delivering exciting engagement opportunities to our customers and his loyal fanbase for years to come,” he continued.

In a post on X – formerly known as Twitter – Lebron wrote: “Football season just got A LOT more fun. Let’s go!”

Follows recent hire at DraftKings

Last week, DraftKings appointed Marie Donoghue as its new chief business and growth officer. In her new role, Donoghue is set to work with existing DraftKings teams to unlock and spearhead new growth opportunities.

Previously, Donoghue spent five and a half years at Amazon. There, she held the role of vice-president of Amazon’s US Sports Content & Partnerships Division. Before this she spent 19 years in a number of senior roles at ESPN.

Earlier this month, DraftKings became one of a few states to secure market access in North Carolina prior to the market going live. DraftKings partnered with Nascar in the state in order to secure access.

North Carolina’s mobile sports betting market will go live on 11 March, as per confirmation from the North Carolina State Lottery Commission last week.