Sportradar makes its iGaming ambitions a reality with 2026 roadmap

Sportradar, one of the world’s biggest sportstech firms, has announced a significant expansion of its iGaming proposition via the launch of a new division.

The Swiss-based multinational has launched Playradar, an iGaming-oriented brand which will develop cross-vertical gaming products tailored towards global betting and gaming operators.

Sportradar has been hinting at the expansion of its iGaming proposition for quite some time. Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer, commented on the opportunities available to the brand in the sector during Sportradar’s earnings calls in 2025, for example.

This does not mark Sportradar’s debut in iGaming, but rather an expansion of its existing presence. The firm has been flirting with an iGaming product for a while now, testing it in the Brazilian market last year. The launch of Playradar marks the next chapter in its iGaming journey.

The new division serves to join the dots between Sportradar’s iGaming ambitions and its historic focus on sports technology and betting data. The division has three key arms – a live 24/7 experience centre, a live and historical sports and casino hybrid content division, and a premium iGaming content division.

The three segments aim to combine sports viewing and gaming for either engagement or real money betting, combine live and historical sports streaming with casino mechanics, and offer virtual sports and casino games on the same platform.

“iGaming represents a natural and scalable extension of our business, and a strategic acceleration of our long-term growth roadmap,” Koerl said of Playradar’s launch.

“Playradar content is designed to provide optimized cross-sell between the worlds of sport and casinos, helping operators to increase player value and session length at a time when engagement and retention are key to operational sustainability.”

Brazil tests lead to 2026 big bang

Sportradar is one of the biggest players in the sportstech and data space, with a particular focus on delivering betting and streaming data to licensed operators. The firm counts Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel, DraftKings and evoke’s William Hill  as key clients.

Last year saw it substantially expand its reach in sports data, a fiercely competitive space shared with the likes of Genius Sports and Stats Perform, via the takeover of IMG Arena from Endeavour Holdings.

With its status in sports data secured, it’s only inevitable that Sportradar would look for new opportunities for growth. It became apparent last year that its attention had been drawn to two verticals – predictions markets and iGaming.

Commenting on its iGaming tests in Brazil during the firm’s Q3 2025 earnings call, Koerl said: “Once the client acquisition is done, it falls into the sports betting universe. Here we have all the products, from pure databases up to risk management or the full platform.

“We can channel switch that client based on AI, and get them into the iGaming space, provide them the right products, measure the stimulation and the churn, and have retention tools in between with the visualisation.”

Building on the Brazil tests, Playradar’s geographic focus has been set on regulated markets across North America and Latin America, as well as  the UK. Game releases are planned across these three areas throughout 2026, encompassing virtual sports, table games, arcades and slots.

Playradar will be headed up by Edo Haitin, who will become Sportradar’s new Executive Vice President of iGaming. Haitin was chosen due to his extensive background in the live casino sector, having been Managing Director of Live Casino at Playtech between 2019-2022 and CEO of Playtech Live between 2022-2025.

Haitin remarked: “By combining our unrivalled experience in sports data and live streaming, along with a proven track record of product development, we aim to create hybrid content and gaming experiences to capitalize on the rising popularity of sports casino consumption. 

“We’re uniquely positioned to seamlessly blend live and historical sports events, innovative gaming mechanics, and casino content and have the advantage of being able to distribute games to an already licensed portfolio of operators. 

“I’m incredibly excited to be further strengthening our iGaming business through Playradar and to grow it into a leader in iGaming content, leveraging Sportradar’s existing resources and the highly experienced and skilled team already in place.”

Koerl added: “In Edo, we have an experienced and proven industry leader to drive the business forward, with the support of a passionate and dedicated team.”