TLDR Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl said unregulated revenue accounts for 5% to 13% of the company’s total, far below the 30%-40% claimed by short sellers Short-seller reports from Callisto Research and Muddy Waters caused Sportradar shares to drop 22.6% in a single day last week Koerl called the reports “false, misleading and defamatory” and said the company does not work with black market operators Sportradar posted a Q1 loss of €6 million despite revenue rising 11% to €347 million The company appointed former Entain COO Sameer Deen as its new chief operating officer, effective May 18
Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl told analysts on Tuesday that the company’s revenue from unlicensed operators sits between 5% and 13%. The disclosure came during the company’s Q1 earnings call, where analysts pressed Koerl on two short-seller reports released last week.
Those reports, published by Callisto Research and Muddy Waters, alleged that Sportradar was doing business with a large number of unlicensed gambling platforms. Callisto estimated that the number of unlicensed operators could exceed 270.
A former senior employee cited in the Callisto report claimed unlicensed operators could make up between 30% and 40% of Sportradar’s revenue. Koerl rejected that figure on the call.
“We do not work with black market operators,” Koerl said. “For the grey market, we have a solid compliance structure in place, and we only work with licensed operators.”
The reports hit Sportradar’s stock hard. Shares fell 22.6% by close on Wednesday last week after the two firms shorted the stock.
Koerl responded on LinkedIn the next day, calling the reports “false, misleading and defamatory.” He repeated that message on Tuesday’s earnings call.
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Muddy Waters had also alleged that a Sportradar sales team member offered to introduce its investigators to Yabo