NY Times Quotes Jeff Ifrah on NFL’s Live Game Data Deal and Future of Sports Betting

Last winter, the National Football League began lining up suitors to distribute what has become one of the hottest commodities in sports: live data from games.

Once limited to basic statistics, that data now includes everything from the bend in a soccer ball’s flight to a running back’s acceleration, measured by computer chips in his shoulder pads. Streaming from fields, courts and rinks, it drives not only game apps on fans’ mobile phones and computers, but also fantasy sites and professional scouting reports…

As logical as that move might appear to be, experts in the area warn that political realities make it far from certain. Every business with a stake in the matter, from Las Vegas casinos to corner convenience stores that sell scratch-off lottery tickets, has a political representative at the state or federal level, said Jeff Ifrah, a Washington lawyer who represents betting clients.

“These are all industries that are concerned that regulated sports betting is going to eat into their business,” Mr. Ifrah said.