Official betting is a form of sports betting that requires the use of official data from a league, organization or association. This is different from the unofficial, ad-hoc data that is often obtained from social media.
Currently, there are several legal options available to US sports bettors. Most of these options are offered by online sportsbooks that accept wagers from residents in their state or country.
In-Play Betting (Live Odds)
In-play betting, or live odds, is an important component of a sportsbook’s offer. It’s also a good way to create a more exciting experience for players and bettors.
The most popular types of in-play bets are totalizators and if bets. The former are flexible-rate bets that change in real time depending on a number of factors. The latter are if-bets that allow the bettor to bet on two or more straight bets joined together by an if clause.
League Data Mandate
The use of official league data has been a hot topic in the US sports betting industry since the fall of PASPA in May 2018. As part of their lobbying efforts, NBA and MLB began promoting the idea of official data mandates for legal state-regulated sports betting in February 2018, three months before PASPA was removed by the US Supreme Court.
In recent months, two states have passed laws requiring to-be licensed sportsbooks to purchase only official league data for in-play wagers. In both cases, the leagues are required to make the data available to operators on “commercially reasonable terms.” However, it’s difficult to judge what this means in practice – especially when you consider that the initial terms set by the leagues can be difficult to negotiate with distributors like Sportradar.