Sportradar Is Alleged to Supply the Illegal Gambling Industry It Publicly Claims to Police

"If there is a case where our content is popping up in markets which are not licensed, which are not covered by the contracts, of course, we are going on those operators." — Carsten Koerl, Sportradar CEO

Sportradar is a Swiss provider of sports data, odds, and trading services to the global gambling industry. Founded in 2001 by current CEO Carsten Koerl, the company has positioned itself as a leader in "sports integrity," holding partnerships with major leagues including the NBA, NHL, and FIFA. It operates in regulated markets across North America, Europe, and the Middle East under licenses that require strict anti-money-laundering compliance and prohibit supplying unlicensed operators. North America alone accounts for roughly a quarter of revenue.

Sportradar sits between two sides of the sports betting industry. On one side, it pays sports leagues for the right to collect real-time data from their games. On the other, it sells that data — plus odds-setting, risk management, virtual games, and advertising services — to online gambling operators. A growing part of the business, managed trading services (roughly 18% of revenue), operates on a revenue-share model where Sportradar takes a cut of every bet placed through its technology. The company also markets "integrity services" that claim to help leagues detect match-fixing. Callisto Research alleges the revenue-share model creates a direct incentive to supply operators regardless of their licensing status, and that Sportradar's public compliance posture is contradicted by its actual client base.

• 01

  Callisto identified more than 270 gambling platforms — over a third of the 800 Sportradar claims to serve — that appear to use Sportradar's products while operating illegally in regulated or prohibited markets. Former employees estimated exposure to unlicensed operators at 30–40% of revenue; every former employee interviewed acknowledged exposure to "gray" or black markets. Regulatory

• 02

  Two former employees confirmed to Callisto that 1xBet — described by the Group of Copenhagen's president as the "Wagner Group of sports betting," reportedly run by Russian fugitives, and blacklisted or investigated in dozens of countries — is among Sportradar's top 10 clients, a tier from which Sportradar derives roughly 29% of revenue. Regulatory

• 03

  Sportradar appears on the "b2b Recognition Letter Register" of Anjouan Licensing Services Inc — an entity the Central Bank of the Comoros has publicly stated does not exist. At least 100 of the identified illegal Sportradar-using platforms operate under these fake Anjouan "licenses," which have been exposed by major media including Le Monde and ABC. Governance

• 04

  Callisto identified apparent Sportradar clients linked to OFAC-sanctioned parties, including Bet City (controlled until early 2025 by sanctioned businessman Sergey Samsonenko) and Betboom (owned by the daughter of OFAC-sanctioned former Russian deputy finance minister Tatyana Nesterenko). Russian operator Fonbet, which Callisto alleges uses Sportradar data, maintains physical betting shops in Russian-occupied Crimea. Sanctions

• 05

  CEO Carsten Koerl serves as chairman of Betgames, a live-games studio described by a Kazakh official as an "illegal gambling business." Callisto also alleges Koerl maintains ongoing ownership ties to the offshore network of Russian sportsbook Liga Stavok via a Maltese entity — contradicting Sportradar's 2022 statement that he had exited Liga Stavok and had never held operational authority there. Governance

• 06

  Sportradar was named by a witness in December 2025 Turkish criminal proceedings as one of three key foreign providers to the Turkish illegal gambling market. Callisto identified Sportradar products on at least four platforms alleged to be connected to Turkish cocaine figure Halil Falyali (indicted in the US in 2016) or his associates. Criminal Exposure

• 07

  Sportradar has reported a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting in every annual report since its IPO (five consecutive years). The company has cycled through five CFOs in six years, uses at least eight different small accounting firms across its subsidiaries, and its Swedish subsidiary was placed into liquidation in 2025 after ignoring four injunctions over reporting failures. Financial Controls

• 08

  Three US gambling regulators have reportedly already commenced reviews after Callisto shared its findings. Prior B2B precedents demonstrate the enforcement timeline is tight: Yggdrasil Gaming was fined by Swedish regulators in 2024 for supplying unlicensed operators, and Evolution Gaming's UK license was placed under review in late 2025 over similar allegations. Regulatory

Callisto Research concludes that Sportradar faces a binary outcome: materially restructure its customer base at the cost of significant revenue and growth, or face escalating regulatory, legal, and reputational consequences. With three US regulators already reviewing the findings and multiple European regulators having recently suspended similar B2B operators, Callisto believes the risk is imminent. The firm holds a short position and estimates potential downside of 50–70%.

IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This summary is produced by Activ8 Insights and is based solely on the research report published by Callisto Research on April 22, 2026. All allegations, findings, and conclusions are those of Callisto Research and represent opinions, not statements of fact. Activ8 Insights holds no position in any security mentioned and does not endorse or verify the claims contained herein. As of the publication date of Callisto Research's report, Callisto Research and its affiliates hold a short position in the securities of Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) and will realize gains in the event that the price of those securities declines. This is not investment advice. You should do your own research and due diligence before making any investment decision with respect to the securities covered herein.