Sportradar started in Norway as software that collected betting odds from online sportsbooks. Twenty years later it fed live game data to bookmakers, broadcasters and leagues around the world. In 2021 American states were legalizing sports betting one after another, and the NBA, MLB and NHL wanted partners who could sell their data safely. Sportradar held many of those rights. Its founder still controlled most of the votes when it listed in New York.

From Trondheim to St. Gallen

Petter Fornæss and Tore Steinkjer built the first software in Trondheim, Norway, in 2001, under the name Market Monitor. Carsten Koerl, a veteran of early online betting, became a major investor and later chief executive. The bet was that betting companies would pay for fast, accurate data and that leagues would pay for protection against match fixing. Sportradar won betting data rights from the NBA, MLB and NHL. It moved its base to St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Koerl Keeps Control

Sportradar sold 19 million shares at $27 in September 2021 and listed on Nasdaq as SRAD on September 14. The offering valued it at about $8 billion. After the deal Koerl held about 82 percent of the voting power. The company kept adding league partners, including a ten-year NHL deal signed in 2021. It reported about €1.29 billion in revenue for 2025. Sportradar still trades on Nasdaq.

Cover: The Races, Édouard Manet. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a day at the races (sports and betting).