Underdog adds Sportradar’s Bettor Sense

Abi Bray

25 September 2025 at 5:47am UTC-4

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Daily fantasy sports platform Underdog has integrated Sportradar’s responsible gaming software Bettor Sense to flag high-risk play and expand support for users who show signs of gambling harm.

The move makes Underdog the first US-based operator to adopt the tool, which uses AI to flag early signs of risk and interventions that meet regulatory standards. This feature will also connect at-risk users to treatment through Birches Health.

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Underdog Vice President of Responsible Gaming Adam Warrington said, “Collaborating with Sportradar to integrate Bettor Sense is another step in Underdog’s proactive approach to enhanced player protection across all entry types.

“The integration of this leading player protection technology to detect problem play and provide clear resources to those who need it, now including treatment services from the clinicians at Birches Health, is a critical step forward for our players.”

According to Sportsradar, Bettor Sense – which launched in July 2025 – monitors real-time behaviour, generates risk scores, and provides clear analysis operators can use to tailor outreach and support.

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Sportradar’s head of integrity services and athlete wellbeing Jim Brown added, “We applaud Underdog for taking this meaningful step to not only safeguard, but also to provide resources to players who exhibit potential problem gaming behavior. Sportradar’s expertise and innovative solutions are designed to not only address the needs of our clients but also support a secure and sustainable industry.”

Earlier this month, Underdog became the first sports gambling market to offer prediction markets after announcing a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.

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The Backstory

Underdog’s safety pivot sets the context

Underdog’s latest responsible gaming move does not come out of nowhere. The daily fantasy operator has spent much of the year positioning itself as an early adopter of player-protection tech and training. Most recently, the company became the first U.S.-based operator to integrate Sportradar’s Bettor Sense, an AI-driven monitoring tool that flags early indicators of risky behavior and routes at-risk users to clinical support through Birches Health. The rollout, described in Underdog adds Sportradar’s Bettor Sense, is designed to produce real-time risk scores and structured outreach that meet regulatory expectations. The addition fits with Underdog’s public stance that responsible gaming must be embedded across all entry types and customer interactions, not bolted on after the fact.

In parallel, Underdog has broadened its human-centered guardrails. It partnered with EPIC Global Solutions on companywide workshops that train frontline staff to recognize and act on signs of harmful play, an effort detailed in EPIC Global Solutions and Underdog collaborate to strengthen responsible gaming education. Those sessions aim to standardize how teams communicate with customers exhibiting risk and to make escalation pathways consistent. The combination of AI detection and staff readiness gives Underdog a two-track framework as it pushes into new products and markets.

The timing is not incidental. Earlier this month, the company moved beyond fantasy into event contracts via a partnership with Crypto.com, creating prediction-style markets that regulators are still parsing. As the business model stretches, the optics and mechanics of user protection grow more critical to licensing and brand trust.

Sportradar scales the same toolkit globally

Bettor Sense is not just a U.S. experiment. Sportradar introduced the tool with Brazil’s BETesporte as its first adopter, according to Sportradar launches Bettor Sense solution with Brazil’s BETesporte. Brazil’s regulated market has emphasized proactive safeguards, making it a ready test bed for algorithmic risk detection and personalized interventions. The BETesporte integration, coupled with participation in Sportradar’s Integrity Exchange, shows how the vendor is knitting together player protection and integrity monitoring across jurisdictions.

For Underdog, that track record matters. Regulators and partners tend to reward operators that deploy widely used compliance technologies, especially ones calibrated for different legal frameworks. By choosing a tool already vetted in Brazil’s rulemaking environment, Underdog gains a story it can tell state by state about consistency, auditability and speed to remediate harm.

Licensing race raises the stakes

The protective posture also dovetails with expansion imperatives. Underdog and DraftKings were first to file for online betting licenses in Missouri, with only two standalone sportsbook licenses available, as reported in DraftKings and Underdog first to apply for Missouri online betting licenses. Missouri voters approved wagering in November and set a Dec. 1, 2025 start deadline, compressing the window for operators to prove operational readiness. The field is crowded. FanDuel, Fanatics, Caesars, Rush Street Interactive, Penn and Bally’s are expected to pursue slots, and team and casino tie-ups remain in play for other license categories.

In competitive licensing, demonstrable controls often separate applications that look similar on paper. Underdog’s integration of Bettor Sense and its training program with EPIC provide tangible artifacts for regulators: data models, intervention playbooks and vendor attestations. With prediction markets newly introduced through its Crypto.com partnership, showing mature risk governance is likely to be a gating factor as states assess novel bet types and crossovers with fantasy.

Leadership and capital fuel the buildout

Underdog has paired its compliance posture with new executives and fresh funding. The company hired Rishi Garg as chief financial officer and Kimberly Pointer Corbett as chief marketing officer, moves disclosed in Underdog makes executive hires shortly after event contracts launch. Garg, a former Twitter and Square executive, is tasked with scaling financial strategy as Underdog projects nearly $500 million in year-five revenue. Pointer Corbett, with stints at Warner Bros. Games, Zynga and Kabam, is set to sharpen brand and growth efforts as the product suite broadens.

The hires followed a $70 million Series C that pushed the company’s valuation above $1.3 billion, led by Spark Capital. The raise was highlighted by Spark in a release, Spark Capital Leads Underdog Series C, that underscored the firm’s bet on product velocity and regulated-market execution. The cash and leadership depth give Underdog more room to invest in compliance-grade infrastructure, from real-time monitoring to responsible gaming education, as it eyes new states and formats.

Integrity demands intensify across sports

The broader industry is also tightening controls, raising the bar for operators. The PGA of America added compliance provider IC360 for integrity monitoring and ProhiBet, which blocks prohibited bettors through encrypted verification, per IC360 adds Professional Golfers’ Association of America to roster of partners. That move reflects a trend of leagues and governing bodies outsourcing granular oversight to specialized firms and expecting operators to plug into compatible systems.

For companies like Underdog, alignment with this ecosystem is necessary. Tools like Bettor Sense provide early detection on the consumer side. Integrity networks provide early detection on the market side. Training programs such as EPIC’s workshops with Underdog close the human loop. As event contracts and prediction-style markets blur lines between fantasy and wagering, the ability to demonstrate integrated safeguards will influence partnerships with teams and leagues as much as it affects licensing decisions.

The through line is clear: Underdog’s growth plan hinges on proving it can scale innovation and prevention together. The company’s recent choices suggest it knows regulators, investors and sports stakeholders are watching for that balance.