Data company, partially owned by NFL, pulls back betting app announcement

A sports data company partially owned by the NFL abruptly scaled back an announcement about the launch of a mobile sports betting app Thursday after the league said it had not approved use of its data in a game that would allow fans to predict -- and eventually wager money on -- every NFL play.

Sportradar US, the official data distributor of the NFL, teamed with mobile gaming company iPro to launch ringit!, an app that challenges players to predict in-game events such as whether the next play is a run or pass, which players are involved and the result of each play. According to an initial news release Thursday, ringit! was available for play using virtual coins but in the future would "feature both fantasy play and full sports betting for cash" in authorized territories.

However, when contacted by Outside the Lines about the deal, the NFL said the announcement was in error. Sportradar amended its announcement, issuing a statement that said it will provide data to iPro only for a "social game where no money exchanges hands."

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Outside the Lines: "This was done without our knowledge or consent. We are speaking to Sportradar US. This [real-money betting] is not permitted in our agreement."

Sportradar said it amended the announcement "to eliminate any confusion about iPro's future plans with Sportradar's data feeds."

But Tom Goedde, chief marketing officer for iPro, said Thursday evening that the company still intends to eventually offer real-time sports wagering in places where those activities are legal. The ringit! platform can accommodate three types of games: social, fantasy and play-by-play sports betting, Goedde said.

Asked whether Sportradar will provide the data for daily fantasy and sports betting through its agreement with the NFL, Goedde replied: "That will be part of our next announcement."

"There are other providers of data, but they are the official one" of the NFL, Goedde said of Sportradar. "They are the best at what they're doing today, and they are our chosen partner."

The changing characterization of the announcement comes as professional sports leagues face growing scrutiny over their financial relationships with daily fantasy companies. The New York attorney general on Tuesday declared that daily fantasy is illegal gambling. The NFL has no formal agreement with the two leading daily fantasy companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, but most NFL teams hold separate sponsorship agreements, and team owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft have financial stakes in DraftKings.

The NFL has long said publicly it is against sports betting in the United States. Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike last month that while betting on his sport clearly happens, "When you are making money directly from it, people will question or at least [have a] perception of whether that influenced any actions, and we want to stay above that."

In April, the NFL agreed to a deal making Sportradar US its official data provider and took an undisclosed equity stake in the company. The European parent company of Sportradar US is prominently involved in the legal sports betting market in the United Kingdom through integrity and line-monitoring services. The NFL's deal is with Minnesota-based Sportradar US and does not include betting services. But it does include the league's data, which will fuel ringit!

"Building a real-time, play-by-play sports prediction platform is no easy task," said Robert Melendres, founder and CEO at iPro, in the initial announcement of the app. "Strong, fast, reliable game data is absolutely paramount to the ringit! experience, and Sportradar is the first company capable of delivering. The result is an incredibly fun and unique gaming experience that hasn't been possible until now."

The app is available for download on iOS and Android.

Penn Interactive Ventures, which owns the M Resort and Tropicana casinos in Las Vegas, is an investor in iPro. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis are listed as members of Sportradar US's advisory board and recently purchased an equity stake in the company.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA have led the national debate on sports betting. Last November, in a New York Times editorial, he called for legal, regulated sports betting, a dramatic departure from the previous position of every major sport. His public stance coincided with the NBA's announcement that it had acquired an ownership stake in FanDuel, a deal that the company's founder described as "a true partnership."

Silver told ESPN last month that he believes sports gambling has become so pervasive that the NBA has no choice but to participate on some level.

"The industry exists, and it's my view that you have to engage in it," he said. "What's happened with daily fantasy is what happened with virtually every other industry that's out there: The Internet has disrupted it. Now that that's happened, what should our reaction be?

"My reaction is to engage directly. To the extent that federal or state regulators are stepping in, my reaction is, that's very positive, and we'd like to be part of those conversations. Because it's ultimately our game, our intellectual property, and most importantly, what's at stake is the integrity of our game."

Investigative reporter Steve Fainaru of ESPN's Enterprise/Investigative Unit contributed to this report.