Soccer betting is big business, and the English Premier League (EPL) has a lucrative deal with data company Genius Sports to supply real-time stats to sportsbook operators.
Hundreds of players have banded together to question how companies collect, use, and sell their data. The Global Sports Data and Technology Group (GSDT), which is leading this push, is made up of more than 850 players involved in the region’s professional soccer scene.
commercialized without actually compensating the players
They argue that the gathering of data like running speed and positioning is commercialized without actually compensating the players, and in some cases they haven’t even given their permission for its collection.
Ex-Fulham player and now lawyer Udo Onwere said this isn’t just about money, it also relates to players not wanting their information used by firms they have moral objections to, like the gambling sector.
Despite these objections, data companies don’t have a legal requirement to get consent from players to monetize the data, although general data protection regulation (GDPR) rules do require any processing of personal data to be done lawfully, transparently, and fairly.
