NFL Allowing Sportsbooks to Stream Live Games in U.S.
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The NFL’s media and betting strategies passed a major milestone Sunday, when Caesars streamed the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts live within its sportsbook app.
It’s the first time the NFL has allowed a sportsbook to stream a live game in the U.S., and its part of a shift in approach by the world’s richest sports league and Genius Sports, its official data partner. Genius (NYSE: GENI) has been selling live NFL streams to sportsbooks overseas, all part of its landmark deal with the NFL inked back in 2021, and has now been given the go-ahead to do the same in the U.S.
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Caesars (Nasdaq: CZR) announced the stream midway through the game. On Monday morning, Genius and the NFL formally detailed the new approach, which clarified that Caesars was the first to utilize new rights that others could also pay for. The weekly games will include select contests from the regular season and playoffs. Financial details were not provided.
In-app gambling streams are typically smaller in size and lower in resolution, so as not to infringe on the live rights that media companies pay big bucks to secure from the NFL. They’re also restricted to phones and tablets, so bettors can’t watch on their desktops.
The pairing of live streaming and in-game betting is considered the ideal step-up for sportsbooks, who see increased handle when gamblers can wager and watch on the same platform. It’s common in more mature markets such as the U.K., but it’s becoming more pervasive in the U.S. A number of operators, for example, stream select NHL games via a partnership with IMG Arena.
This is a first in the U.S. for the NFL, which is about to begin a series of new broadcast agreements worth more than $110 billion over the next 11 years. Alongside those big deals, the NFL’s has gradually pushed to make its games more widely available in new places. For a long time, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) had exclusive rights to provide mobile streams to its device users. Those rights later moved to the NFL app, for free, up until this season, when the NFL introduced NFL+, a service that costs $5 per month and offers fans the ability to stream local games on their phones.
It’s unclear whose games—and how many—will be used under the new approach being adopted by the NFL and Genius, but its big news for the data company, which committed hundreds of millions in cash and equity to score the NFL’s data rights in a blockbuster deal in 2021. Its challenge now is to monetize those rights to offset the cost, and the ability to offer live games in the U.S. should help, allowing Genius to charge more from operators who would like to match Caesars. The NFL and Genius Sports have worked together to increase the value of official data from the league, which in turn compels sportsbooks to pay for it.
Caesars is one of the NFL’s three principal betting partners alongside DraftKings and FanDuel—a trio of deals that will pay the league close to $1 billion over five years. There is also another tier below the principal level, which debuted in 2021 with a number of other operators, including BetMGM, WynnBet, PointsBet and Fox Bet. Both tiers of partners agreed to purchase official data from Genius Sports, and also have the rights to advertise on TV around NFL games.
(This story has been updated to reflect the formal announcement from the NFL and Genius Sports.)
With assistance from Jacob Feldman.
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