Sportradar pushed back hard Wednesday after a short-selling firm accused the company of having meaningful links to unlawful betting sites.
“A short report issued today contains factual inaccuracies about the company, and we unequivocally challenge these assertions,” a Sportradar spokesperson told ReadWrite.
The company said the report misread both its operations and the wider betting market.
The spokesperson added: “The report demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of our business and the industry and was authored by a short seller trying to erode shareholder value and profit from stock disruption.”
Callisto Research published the report and disclosed that it held a short position in Sportradar shares. It says Sportradar’s image as a sports integrity specialist conflicts with allegations that some websites using its tools or feeds operate unlawfully.
Callisto said it found “over 270 individual platforms” that it says use Sportradar products or services while operating illegally in regulated or prohibited markets. It also alleged that some lacked licences and that certain regulators had started reviews.
ReadWrite has not independently verified those allegations.
Sportradar compliance questions and short seller market reaction to alleged illegal betting
Sportradar answered by pointing to its controls, licensing checks and public disclosures.
“Sportradar works exclusively with licensed operators, follows strict global compliance, and due diligence standards, and we stand by our independently audited financial statements, risk disclosures, and information provided to investors and regulators,” the spokesperson said.
The company also stressed its internal standards.
The company added: “We conduct our business with the highest ethical standards consistent with company policies, laws and regulations.”
The Callisto document focuses on examples where Sportradar widgets, virtual sports products, backend tools or branding allegedly appeared on sites aimed at places where gambling is limited or banned. Separate appendices released with research materials from Muddy Waters Research describe technical methods used to identify what the authors said were customer integrations. These included reviews of client IDs, widget loaders and licensing endpoints.
Even so, code snippets, branding elements, old references or third-party integrations on external websites do not automatically prove a current commercial relationship. They also do not by themselves establish knowledge, misconduct or a regulatory breach by Sportradar.
Short-seller reports are written by investors who benefit if a company’s share price drops. That does not mean every claim lacks merit, but it does mean the research comes from an interested party. Such reports commonly include disclaimers stating they are not investment advice. At the time of writing, Sportradar stock was down 23% ahead of reporting its first quarter results on May 6.
Sportradar sells sports data, integrity monitoring and betting technology to leagues, bookmakers and media groups around the world. Because the company has long promoted anti-match-fixing work and regulatory compliance, any prolonged scrutiny of those claims could draw investor attention even while management firmly rejects the accusations.
As of publication, no regulator had publicly announced enforcement action against Sportradar tied to the specific allegations in the report.
Featured image: Sportradar
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