Official betting is the latest hot topic in US sports gambling, with leagues seeking a larger role as primary stakeholders and profits from the legal market. They want to make their data a monetizable commodity, and they have sought several mechanisms to do so. While they remain opposed to the idea of a direct cut on wagers, leagues are pushing for a mandate that requires all operators to use their data and pay an integrity fee.

Official data has become front and center in the battle for state-regulated sports betting in the wake of the Supreme Court’s PASPA decision. In the first few months after SCOTUS, leagues lobbied for official data mandates in multiple states.

In Connecticut, leagues made their pitch to lawmakers and ultimately won a provision to require the use of official data in tier 2 bets, a class that includes player props. The leagues have also pressed for a full data lockdown in Tennessee and an integrity fee in New Jersey.

A few weeks ago, regulators in Tennessee approved a law that requires all sportsbooks to use official data for all in-play wagers on professional teams and the results of collegiate events. The law is scheduled to take effect in 2022.

But there’s a real question whether that requirement will be commercially reasonable, or even necessary, at least for the majority of operators. Sources within the industry suggest that it will cost somewhere in the range of 0.25% of sportsbook gross revenue, or roughly $2 per bet placed. That is a steep price, especially for the kind of data that has been sufficient to grade in-play bets in Nevada for decades.