Sportradar Is Alleged to Power the Illegal Sportsbooks It Claims to Police — Including Customers Linked to Cambodian Human Trafficking

"We support everyone." — Sportradar Sales Executive to undercover investigators, ICE 2026 gaming conference, Barcelona

Note on coordination: This is the second short report on Sportradar published on April 22, 2026. Callisto Research released parallel findings earlier in the day. While both firms reach similar overall conclusions, the evidentiary approaches differ substantially — Callisto focused on platform counts and CEO's personal business ties; Muddy Waters centers on an undercover sting at ICE 2026, proprietary source-code analysis, and specific revenue contributions from named customers.

Sportradar is the world's largest sports data and "integrity" company, with CEO Carsten Koerl publicly describing the firm as the "FBI of gambling." Muddy Waters conducted a six-month investigation combining an undercover sting at the ICE 2026 gaming conference in Barcelona, proprietary source-code analysis of 40+ gambling platforms, and interviews with 15 current and former employees. The firm holds a short position.

Sportradar sits between professional sports leagues and online gambling operators. It buys data rights from leagues like the NBA and FIFA — often at very high cost — then sells that data, odds, trading services, and virtual games to sportsbooks around the world. A critical and under-reported dynamic, per Muddy Waters: the flagship league deals are loss leaders or breakeven. The actual profit comes from lower-tier league data, virtual sports, and integrity services sold to a high-volume customer base that includes unlicensed operators. Muddy Waters argues this creates a structural dependency on illegal operators — without them, the economics of the expensive league rights deals do not work.

• 01

  At ICE 2026, Muddy Waters investigators posed as operators of a startup sportsbook targeting Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and China — markets with blanket online gambling bans. No Sportradar salesperson declined. An Asia-focused sales executive bragged that Sportradar "serves everyone" and offered to introduce investigators to the Yabo Group, reported to be China's largest illegal operator, whose Cambodian call centers are staffed by trafficked workers. Direct Evidence

• 02

  Sportradar has previously denied supplying 8xBet — an illegal operator whose Cambodian call-center operations are staffed by human-trafficked workers. Muddy Waters identified Sportradar's unique 32-character widgetloader Client ID embedded in 8xBet's source code, directly contradicting that denial. A former salesperson confirmed 8xBet was a customer. Misrepresentation

• 03

  Four direct or indirect Sportradar customers — Yabo Group, 8xBet, SBOBet, and OKVIP — operate Cambodian call centers that investigative journalists and human rights organizations have documented as using trafficked, enslaved workers who are reportedly beaten, tortured, and in some cases driven to suicide when revenue targets are missed. Human Rights

• 04

  Multiple disclosed top-10 customers operate illegally in major markets. Stake.com — estimated at €25–30 million in annual Sportradar revenue — lost its UK license in 2025 and faces lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders in nine US states. 188bet operates Crown Sports targeting mainland China. FonBet, another disclosed top customer, is reportedly linked via proxies to OFAC-sanctioned Russian businessman Alexander Udodov, the former brother-in-law of Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin. Sanctions / Regulatory

• 05

  Using two proprietary source-code methodologies (a widgetloader Client ID fingerprint and a virtual-sports Client ID probe), Muddy Waters identified 47 operators and resellers in illegal markets as current or recent Sportradar clients. Code-level evidence refutes scraping defenses — the data exchanges demonstrate a direct, authenticated connection to Sportradar's servers. Technical Evidence

• 06

  On Sportradar's Q3 2025 earnings call, CEO Carsten Koerl described a "four-level" KYC process and claimed Sportradar only works with licensed operators and monitors the illegal market "very closely." Muddy Waters argues this statement is directly refuted by the ICE 2026 sting, by Sportradar's own source code, and by interviews with 15 former employees who described the KYC process as "check-the-box." Misrepresentation

• 07

  Muddy Waters alleges Sportradar's Adjusted EBITDA presentation masks the full cost of its expensive league rights deals. When restated to reflect the full cost, Muddy Waters estimates 2025 and 2024 Adjusted EBITDA margins of 16.8% and 13.6% — over 3 percentage points below peer Genius Sports at 20.4% and 16.8%, inverting the narrative of Sportradar as the more profitable operator. Financial

• 08

  Muddy Waters estimates that forced deplatforming of illegal customers would reduce revenue by approximately 20–40%. Bottom-up analysis of just 47 identified clients implies €52–92 million of lost FY24 revenue (roughly 13% of total); the top-down 40% scenario implies losses of approximately €246 million in FY24 and €255 million in FY25, which would erase current profitability. Financial

Muddy Waters Research concludes that Sportradar's business model depends structurally on illegal operators to cover the cost of its expensive league rights deals. The firm estimates that forced deplatforming would reduce revenue by 20–40%, erasing current profits and materially impairing growth. Combined with Callisto Research's parallel findings published the same day, Muddy Waters believes regulatory action is imminent. The firm holds a short position.

IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This summary is produced by Activ8 Insights and is based solely on the research report published by Muddy Waters Research on April 22, 2026. All allegations, findings, and conclusions are those of Muddy Waters 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 Muddy Waters Research's report, Muddy Waters (including its affiliates and related parties) is short the securities of Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) and will realize gains in the event that the price of those securities declines. Muddy Waters has stated it intends to begin covering a substantial majority of its short positions upon publication. 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.