Altenar Moves to Block Sportradar’s Arbitration Bid, Seeks US Court Hearing

Just a week after Sportradar pushed to move its dispute with Altenar into arbitration in Switzerland, Altenar came out firmly against the request.

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In its Tuesday filing, the sportsbook technology provider said the case should remain in the US District Court for New Jersey, arguing that the issues at stake are about competition in the American market, not contractual matters abroad.

The lawsuit, first filed in late March, accuses Sportradar of misusing its position as a leading supplier of official sports data tied to major US leagues including the NBA, NHL, MLB, and ATP. Sportradar had pointed to an arbitration clause in a 2021 partnership agreement, but Altenar insists that the clause does not apply to antitrust claims. 

“Sportradar’s global headquarters are in Switzerland; it feels safe there. Its motion to send this case to confidential Swiss arbitration is a transparent attempt to shield itself from US justice and public scrutiny. Altenar looks forward to its day in court,” an Altenar spokesperson told SBC.

“Sportradar is entitled to arbitrate the disputes it actually agreed to arbitrate,” / “It is not entitled to use the MPA as a shield against the Sherman Act in the very market the agreement carved out.”

The story so far

Altenar took Sportradar to court in New Jersey on the final day of March, accusing the Swiss data giant of shutting it out of the US market for turnkey sportsbook platforms. 

At the heart of the case is access to “live official league data,” the feeds from the NBA, NHL, MLB and other major sports that make in‑play betting possible. Altenar says Sportradar promised to supply those rights but later refused, cutting off what Altenar calls the “lifeblood” of its product. 

The complaint paints Sportradar as using its monopoly over official data to squeeze Altenar out, while at the same time launching its own all‑in‑one sportsbook solution, ORAKO. 

Altenar argues this about‑face was deliberate, stating that Sportradar had long supplied it abroad, often on tough terms, but once the US market opened up, it chose to keep the data for itself. 

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“If Sportradar does not supply the essential facility of its official live data to Altenar,” the filing warns, “Sportradar will gobble up share in the turnkey market in the United States.” 

Altenar points to its own track record of paying Sportradar millions annually for data in Europe and elsewhere, and contrasts Sportradar’s conduct with Genius Sports, which continues to supply Altenar without cutting it off. 

The lawsuit claims Sportradar’s refusal violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act, foreclosing competition and leaving sportsbooks with fewer choices, higher prices, and less innovation. 

Sportradar pursuing second anti-competition lawsuit win in 2026

The Altenar case marks Sportradar’s second antitrust battle of the year. Earlier in March, PANDA Interactive amended a 2023 lawsuit against Sportradar and Genius Sports to add fresh competition claims alongside its ongoing patent infringement action.

PANDA argued that both companies had “unlawfully tied access to the official sports data they exclusively control with their own betting technology,” a tactic it said reduced consumer choice and locked out new rivals.

The original suit had accused Genius of infringing PANDA’s patents through products like LiveData, LiveTrading, BetVision and In‑Play Multibet, while Sportradar faced similar claims over its emBet, OTT and Live Channel Trading services according to SBC. 

However, both efforts feel short, as on April 9, 2026, Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas dismissed PANDA’s antitrust claims against Sportradar with prejudice, just days after Altenar filed its own complaint in New Jersey. 

Now the focus shifts to New Jersey, where Altenar is pressing for a ruling that defines the boundaries of how Sportradar manages the data of major US sports leagues. The court must decide whether Altenar’s antitrust claims will proceed publicly in the US or be sent to arbitration under the companies’ 2021 agreement.

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