Genius Sports Develops Predictor Game for Indianapolis Colts

Posted on: September 28, 2022, 01:23h. 

Last updated on: September 30, 2022, 04:24h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Sports betting data provider Genius Sports has developed a new free-to-play predictor game on behalf of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan throws a pass last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team is partnering with Genius Sports on a predictor game. (Image: ESPN)

Available on the team’s mobile application, Pick Six is presented by Caesars Sportsbook. A year ago, the Colts named Caesars Entertainment “a premier sports betting partner and the only official casino partner of the team.”

‘Pick Six’ will enhance the run-up to every Colts game, challenging fans with a series of questions that ask them to predict aspects of team and player performance. Players will go head-to-head with other fans with each question worth points that create weekly and season-long leader boards,” according to a statement issued by Genius.

Some of the questions in the game will feature official odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook. Caesars offers mobile sports wagering in Indiana and runs several land-based gaming venues there. Financial terms of the Genius/Colts partnership weren’t revealed.

Genius NFL Ties Run Deep

Genius doesn’t operate as a consumer-facing sportsbook. Rather, sportsbook operators buy data from the company and its competitors. It’s expected those purchases will increase over time as regulated sports betting and in-game wagering increase in popularity in the US.

Genius is the official data provider of the NFL, and the company leverages that status to shop its wares in sportsbooks. Clients include such well-known names as Caesars and FanDuel, among others.

The Genius/NFL collaboration aims to develop a feed that’s so comprehensive that media companies and sportsbook operators prefer it — and pay up for it — over traditional live feeds. The partnership arrives as the sports betting industry is preparing for massive growth of in-game betting — a data-dependent endeavor and forecast to be a hit among football bettors.

It’s believed that Genius forked over $1 billion to win the NFL data agreement. Today, the league is also one of the data provider’s largest investors. The NFL was granted 22.5 million Genius warrants as part of the data accord.

Free-to-Play Perks for Genius, Sportsbooks

In recent years, broadcast networks and sportsbook operators have used free-to-play (F2P) games and prediction games to boost fan engagement and potentially convert those users to sports bettors.

Genius Sports entered the arena in May 2021 when it acquired FanHub Media Holdings.

“Genius Sports is the NFL’s exclusive distributor of real-time and official play-by-play statistics, NGS data, and official sports betting data feed. As a leading provider of data-driven fantasy, trivia, and pick ‘em games, Genius Sports is also the trusted free-to-play partner of the NFL, NBA, MLB, and FIFA,” said the company in the statement.