INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The NCAA is set to forge a partnership with sportsbooks after an agreement was reached to supply data from its championship events through Genius Sports, multiple outlets reported Friday.
Because the NCAA is not in charge of the College Football Playoff, the biggest impact from the new deal will come with information supplied through the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The agreement, which runs through 2032, does not include regular-season games.
While the NCAA has tried to keep its distance from the growing sports betting industry, the partnership with Genius Sports puts it more in line with professional sports leagues that have working relationships with the industry.
With online harassment of student athletes on the rise, NCAA president Charlie Baker spoke at a Senate hearing about the impact of sports betting and college athletics in December. The NCAA’s chief concern is with betting options tied to an individual player.
Genius Sports will now supply sportsbooks with official game data, through an authorized gaming license, while “limiting risky bet types,” and “safeguarding student-athletes,” are listed as primary goals of the London-based company.
“NCAA data will only be available to sportsbooks if they remove risky bets from their platforms and agree to fully cooperate with NCAA investigations and provide key information including geolocation data and device records,” NCAA senior vice president of external affairs Tim Buckley said in a statement, according to ESPN. “The NCAA retains the right to terminate any sportsbook data license if integrity protections are violated — ensuring real accountability.”
NCAA member schools will continue to get live game statistics for free through NCAA LiveStats, ESPN reported.
–Field Level Media