The National Football League (NFL) has announced the expansion of its partnership with London-based sports data and technology company Genius Sports.
The new deal will see Genius Sports support the NFL’s broadcast of select NFL games through major US sports betting platforms.
As part of this expanded agreement, official sports betting partner and the first official casino sponsor of the NFL, Caesars Entertainment, one of the largest casino-entertainment companies in the US, will become the first sportsbook operator to provide its US customers with live ‘Watch & Bet’ video streams.
It will be made available for select NFL games on fans’ mobile phones or tablets via the Caesars Sportsbook app.
Genius Sports will leverage its machine learning and live streaming technologies to power the viewing experience through ‘Watch & Bet’, and the development of its augmented live video betting products.
The NFL appointed Genius Sports in April 2021 as its exclusive worldwide distributor of real-time official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) data, and the league’s official sports betting data feed to media companies and sportsbooks in regulated markets.
This partnership included the rights for Genius Sports to distribute low latency video feeds to sportsbooks in key international markets, but this has now been expanded to include the U.S.
As a first of its kind in the US, Caesars Sportsbook will offer official data-driven in-game betting opportunities and player props alongside live video streams of NFL games to give their customers access to the most compelling in-play NFL betting experience available for mobile and tablets.
Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital, said, “The addition of live Watch & Bet video streaming brings the best that the NFL has to offer right into the Caesars Sportsbook app.”
“Delivering innovative technology like this remains a key emphasis for us, so being the first U.S. sportsbook to provide customers with in-app NFL live streaming isn’t something we take lightly. We’re thankful to bring an industry-leading new feature to our sports wagering app through our partnership with Genius Sports and the NFL.”
Brent Lawton, VP NFL Media Strategy and Business Development, said, “We’re excited to offer fans a new way to experience and engage with NFL content.
“Watch and Bet is an innovative step forward in our partnerships with Genius Sports and Caesars.”
Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, added, “In our expanded agreement with the NFL and Caesars Entertainment, Genius Sports has created a unique solution that combines our exclusive official NFL data with live streaming content to deliver the most compelling sports betting experience available across the US”
“Accelerated by our long-term NFL partnership, Genius Sports continues to go from strength to strength as our innovative products enable our customers to grow their product offering and increase market share across North America.”
Genius Sports’ existing agreement with Caesars provides programmatic marketing solutions and access to official data-powered in-play content for other top-tier US and global sports, including NASCAR, EPL, Argentinian and Colombian soccer, and Liga MX.
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