Altenar faces challenges in Sportradar lawsuit
Sports betting technology provider Altenar filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against sports data company Sportradar in New Jersey last week, but the case is expected to face significant legal obstacles.
Altenar alleged that Sportradar used its exclusive data deals with the NBA, NHL, and MLB to block it from entering the US market, claiming the company violated the Sherman Act through an unlawful refusal to deal.
Sportradar is expected to have a strong procedural defense. Altenar was already pursuing arbitration against the company in Switzerland and a separate complaint before the Maltese Competition Authority.
Because of this, Altenar may face difficulties upholding its litigation in New Jersey, as it has already sought remedies in separate jurisdictions.
Sportradar is expected to argue it cut ties with Altenar for standard business reasons and was not required to keep the partnership in place.
Altenar, in turn, claimed Sportradar verbally promised US market access during contract renewal talks in 2020, but those promises could prove unenforceable, particularly if integration clauses in the written contracts rendered informal commitments void.
A Sportradar spokesperson told Sportico, “While we prefer not to comment on pending litigation, we strongly disagree with the claims made by Altenar, which we believe are without merit and contain numerous inaccuracies.”
US District Judge Evelyn Padin will preside over the case.
In recent weeks, Sportradar has expanded its operations, launching its own igaming brand, Playradar.
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The Backstory
Inside the data power struggle
Altenar’s antitrust suit against Sportradar lands at the intersection of data exclusivity, league control and a crowded U.S. betting supply chain. The sportsbook technology provider alleges the data giant weaponized exclusive feeds from the NBA, NHL and MLB to box a rival out of the American market. The dispute centers on whether a dominant distributor can lawfully cut ties with a downstream partner while holding keys to official, near real-time statistics that sportsbooks say they need to compete.
The procedural hurdles are significant. Altenar had already opened fronts in Switzerland through arbitration and before the Maltese Competition Authority, which could weaken its bid to press the case in New Jersey federal court. Sportradar is expected to argue it ended the relationship for standard business reasons, not to foreclose competition, and that any verbal assurances made during 2020 renewal talks are eclipsed by written contracts with integration clauses. U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin will weigh those issues against a fast-evolving marketplace where leagues sell official data rights and vendors bundle them with trading tools and risk services. Sportradar, for its part, has been expanding into adjacent products, including launching its own igaming brand, Playradar, underscoring how control over data can fuel broader commercial plays across betting and gaming.
The stakes reach beyond two companies. If the court entertains Altenar’s refusal-to-deal theory, it could test the limits of antitrust law in a sector built on exclusivity. If it does not, it will reinforce the discretion rights holders and top distributors enjoy when setting terms in a market still sorting out who owns the rails of in-play wagering.
Altenar’s U.S. ambition in focus
Altenar has telegraphed a bigger North American push this year. The company appointed Matthew Ferrara to its North American team, adding sales depth and operator relationships as states mature and competitive churn rises. Ferrara’s background in both trading and business development suggests Altenar wants to sell more than a generic platform. It wants to tailor feeds, pricing and features to local tastes where live markets and micro-bets now define product differentiation.
The product roadmap tracks that intent. Ahead of the 2025 season, Altenar expanded its MLB in-play coverage with live bet builders and a wider set of proposition markets, powered by Swish Analytics, an official MLB data distributor. That choice is notable in the lawsuit’s shadow: it shows Altenar can partner with league-affiliated data firms while arguing that Sportradar’s rights portfolio creates a chokepoint elsewhere. The MLB push also highlights how official data is used to unlock fast markets, player props and same-game combos that drive handle. In a market where uptime and grade speed are table stakes, suppliers live and die by the pipes that feed their models.
The legal clash therefore doubles as a commercial clock. If Altenar can convince operators it has reliable, compliant access to the data that matters, it can win deals even as the case moves. If uncertainty lingers, rivals with undisputed access gain leverage in contract talks for the 2025–26 seasons.
Scaling beyond the United States
Altenar’s growth plan is not tethered to the U.S. alone. The company expanded in Brazil through a Multibet sportsbook deal, supplying customized tools for a fast-regulating and highly competitive market. Brazil’s new framework is catalyzing a wave of platform tenders as local brands look to upgrade. For Altenar, landing a domestic operator offers volume, regional credibility and a regulatory template it can showcase to other LatAm prospects.
That deal follows a pattern of pairing localization with compliance. Brazil’s rules favor robust responsible gambling controls, tax reporting and payment integrations adapted to local rails. Vendors that can deliver those pieces win share. The Brazil move also hedges U.S. legal risk. If the Sportradar fight drags, Latin America provides growth to offset any delayed North American pipeline.
The company’s partner ecosystem reinforces this approach. Aligning with content studios and data specialists helps Altenar offer breadth without building every component from scratch. That is increasingly how second-tier suppliers compete with vertically integrated giants that own data, trading and distribution.
Legal headwinds shape the operating map
The Altenar–Sportradar dispute lands in a moment of heightened legal scrutiny across gambling and adjacent gaming. In New Zealand, SkyCity is defending a challenge to its digital strategy after plaintiffs filed a case testing whether its online casino complies with local law. The action targets SkyCity, SkyCity Auckland Holdings and Malta-based Silvereye, which operates the SkyCity Online platform. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of customers who lost money between 2020 and 2026, raising questions about where jurisdiction stops and offshore licenses begin. SkyCity says it will fight the case and denies liability. Read more here: SkyCity faces lawsuit over online casino operations.
In the United States, the lines between gaming and gambling are also under sharper review. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Valve for allegedly promoting illegal gambling through loot boxes in games popular with teens. While that case targets a game developer, not a sportsbook supplier, it speaks to a broader policy mood: regulators are skeptical of mechanics that blur entertainment and wagering, especially where minors are in the frame. For betting vendors, that climate favors tighter compliance and traceable data chains. For data distributors, it could spark new disclosure or consent standards when selling official feeds into products aimed at younger audiences.
Together, these actions show how regulatory risk can alter commercial calculus. Operators and suppliers are reassessing where and how they deploy products, which contracts need contingency language for feed interruptions or rights changes, and how to document promises made in business development to avoid disputes over verbal commitments.
What’s at stake next
The New Jersey court will first decide whether Altenar’s case can proceed given parallel proceedings overseas. A stay or dismissal on procedural grounds would leave business pressure, not litigation, to govern access to official data. If the claim survives, discovery could pry into how data exclusivity is negotiated, the extent to which vendors coordinate with leagues and whether there is a duty to deal under U.S. antitrust law in this context.
Meanwhile, product momentum continues. Altenar’s MLB features and North American sales buildout position it for operator talks tied to 2025–26 launches. Wins there would validate a multi-partner data strategy and lessen reliance on any single distributor. Its Brazil partnership provides growth and proof points in a marquee LatAm market where regulation is crystallizing and competition is fierce.
For Sportradar and peers, the message is that exclusive rights confer both commercial power and legal exposure. How they balance partner selection, termination policies and documentation will influence not just courtroom risk but the pace at which operators can innovate around in-play betting. For regulators watching from New York to Wellington, the outcomes will feed a policy debate over how much control a few firms should have over the data that increasingly determines who wins and loses in modern sports wagering.
