By Carsten Koerl

Over the past days, I’ve found myself reflecting on my recent time in Lisbon, once home of the great Cristiano Ronaldo, but this last week, home to one of the greatest shows in gaming, the SBC Summit ’24. And the MEO Arena would no doubt have met with the approval of Cristiano, an enormous spaceship-shaped building, as unique and unforgettable as the man himself.

As ever, there was a convivial and inspiring atmosphere, and it was terrific to meet up with friends old and new, clients and partners alike.

My days started with the most stunning walk to the Arena, following the Alameda dos Oceanos (the alley of the oceans), culminating where the Tagus River estuary meets with the Atlantic Ocean.

It was a sign that it was time to make waves. A personal highlight for me was my fireside chat on the Super Stage with television superstar Laura Woods, discussing how AI and immersive technologies are not just buzzwords, but game changers in sports consumption and betting.

My central message was that drastic change is afoot. The way media is consumed, and the way fans are seeking interaction with live sport, is undergoing a revolution. The days of passive viewing are over – the next generation of sports-watching at home will be an immersive and interactive experience. Fuelled by AI, the sports economy will offer new products, services and experiences, highly personalised and available in real time.

We are already pushing the boundaries. Sportradar’s Broadcast Solutions offer fans virtual courtside and bench-level views of games. Virtual Stadium represents a shift towards an increasingly social betting experience, allowing bettors to connect with their peers and engage in conversation and friendly debate. Our enhanced streaming services integrate AI-driven live graphics and overlays into broadcasts, providing real-time statistics, contextual information and dynamic visual elements. These create highly personalised sports betting experiences tailored to the interests of individual customers.

And, we are the only company able to process hundreds of thousands of data points per game and, using AI, transform them into highly engaging micro markets, as we are already doing for the ATP. We can offer more than ‘point-by-point’… we can offer markets on the nuances of tennis betting. In the case of tennis, the granularity of our markets include: the rally length, the errors, whether the point will be won by a backhand or a foreground shot, a volley. Tennis is just the start – watch out for NBA, NHL and MLB in 2025.

Now, Laura has introduced some great pieces of action in her time, but even she was blown away by the video we showed of Computer Vision. Again, using AI, we can process 120 frames per second to accurately score the action even faster than the chair umpire, and convey the live action to markets in real time We are also using AI-driven probability models to help power the betting industry’s in-play markets.

I had the opportunity to tell Laura how AI is also being used to aid our work in Responsible Gambling. The introduction of artificial intelligence allows operators to analyse customer data, anticipate spending patterns and identify those at risk of problem gambling.

It was so rewarding to be able to spend time in person with our passionate Sportradar colleagues, and to appreciate the incredible work they continue to do to grow and enhance our status as the industry-leading global sports technology company. Almost as exciting was meeting action sports legend Tony Hawk, who was on the stage in the slot preceding my own. Appropriate really, given the entire week was a pretty adrenalin-filled ride…

Tchauzinho! (Good-bye for now 😊)