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SPORTS BETTING
SOLVING SPORTS BETTING THE AI WAY
The advent of AI-assisted products in the sportsbook space appears to offer up the prospect of an epochchanging leap forward in risk management , writes Scott Longley . Does it mean that margin volatility will become a thing of the past ? Not quite yet , suggest the experts . But the product is developing fast
B uzz phrases don ’ t get much buzzier than “ AI-assisted ”. The mere mention of the phrase either prompts excited optimism about a tech-driven future – or a very real fear of the same .
In the betting and gaming space , the use of artificial intelligence may not quite engender the apocalyptic visions of AI naysayers in the wider world . But it still appears to offer the possibility of very much changed business practices .
Notably , given the central importance of data to any potential machine learning or AI developments , it is the two prominent sports data collection entities that are leading the charge . The pair launched new AI-assisted sports betting products that appear to point to the dawn of a new era of sportsbook margin management .
In 2022 Sportradar launched Alpha Odds , an automated odds recalculation tool . This , the company said , allows its sportsbook clients to generate bespoke betting prices in line with their risk exposure and liabilities .
More recently , the company said the product , which is now in operation with 60 of its clients , delivered an average 10 % profit increase in 2023 .
Then , in January this year , rival Genius Sports announced the launch of its Edge product which similarly promises automated pricing which it says is designed to unlock the maximum amount of profit within every single bet .
THE PROMISE OF AI
The promise of AI in the context of sportsbooks is reliant on access to data according to Darren Small , SVP for managed trading services ( MTS ) at Sportradar . And lots of it .
“ AI can do a huge number of things , but it is clear it can only improve the outputs ,” he says . “ There needs to be a feedback loop , otherwise it won ’ t work . A company needs to have data , the more data the better , to make the most of the AI . Once a company has the data , then the future opens up .”
But what kind of future ? As with wider discussions around developments in AI , the potential for AI is more notional right now even while aspects of machine learning are being deployed across the global network of sportsbooks .
“ It is still early days for the industry when it comes to understanding the benefits automation might bring ,” says Small . “ At present many operators are still at the stage of understanding how
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