Genius Sports extends Football DataCo deal, adds new in-play markets

Genius Sports has extended its exclusive live betting data partnership with UK football rights holder Football DataCo to 2029, in a deal that will provide Genius with new pre-game and in-play player markets from the 2025/26 season.

Football DataCo covers the English Football League (EFL), containing the Championship, League One and League Two, as well as all leagues overseen by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), including the Scottish Premiership.

In its renewed deal, Genius Sports will provide its sportsbook partners with data on number of shots on target, assists and pass completions, to bolster their in-play betting offerings.

Genius Sports has been Football DataCo’s official data partner since 2019, and distributed live data for over 4,000 games per season since.

It has also expanded its technology partnership with the Premier League and EFL, through which it provides both Premier League and EFL Championships teams with AI-powered data and intelligence to help them enhance their own performances. Genius said it will continue to power technology initiatives across the UK football ecosystem.

One such initiative is Data Zone; a data-driven, immersive broadcast experience which includes insights into player IDs, pitch maps, shot velocities and player speeds.

Genius data will also be used to launch the first season-long fantasy football game for the EFL in the 2024-25 season.

The fantasy league platform was announced in July covering all 72 clubs across the three divisions.

Partnership “transformational” for Genius Sports’ growth
CEO Mark Locke said the partnership had been transformational to Genius Sports’ growth.

“This renewal underpins our continued business expansion and fuels the trajectory of our medium-term financial outlook. Going forward, we expect the partnership to act as a flywheel to drive further innovation and value for our sportsbook partners,” Locke said.

“With the extension, Genius Sports will continue to deliver the industry’s fastest, most accurate, and most reliable data feed to power in-play betting products and innovations from some of the most valuable betting content in the world.”

Adrian Ford, General Manager of Football DataCo, said Genius had been an exceptional partner to UK football, in delivering innovative real time betting experiences.

“We look forward to continuing to expand the relationship with a new rights term from the start of the 2025/26 season and maintaining the highest quality of data to connect millions of fans globally with our competitions.”