The NFL’s sports gambling policy prohibits players and staff members from placing or soliciting bets on league games. Isaiah Rodgers, Rashod Berry and a number of other team members have been flagged for such activity. Amid the controversy, questions have arisen about how well informed the league’s staff is about its betting policies and whether they are doing enough to catch offenders.

The issue is especially critical as lawmakers consider a wide range of sports betting legislation in the US. Official data mandates would compel operators to sign commercial agreements with the leagues in exchange for access to their live stats. The industry views such requirements as bad public policy because they create a quasi-monopoly on data while the value of that data remains in question.

In the world of real-time data, the two key suppliers are Sportradar and Genius Sports. Currently, the major US sports leagues have data arrangements with both companies, relationships that have expanded alongside the growing appetite for legal sports betting.

The MLB, NHL and NBA are among the leagues pushing to require official data in state-regulated sports betting. It’s a controversial proposal that’s been kicked around since before PASPA was overturned. But the leagues’ efforts will face an uphill climb as regulators and operators weigh the merits of official data mandates.

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