ALT Sports Data, a data startup founded by GoPro alums Joe Dunnigan and Todd Ballard, has secured $5 million in funding to expand betting on niche and emerging sports like Formula 1, X Games, and the World Surf League. The company works with sports leagues and sportsbook operators to provide the data that underpins bets, aiming to set itself apart from larger providers like Sportradar and Genius Sports, which focus on major leagues such as the NBA and NFL. Ballard, the chief marketing officer of ALT Sports Data, expressed a desire to innovate and think more deeply about niche sports that have been historically underserved in the betting space. "There are a lot of leagues out there that are not the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, that, quite frankly, I feel have been systemically set up for failure in sports betting because there's just no real innovation or thought put into them," Ballard said. These lifestyle sports, including surfing and motocross, have large and passionate fan bases, but lack significant representation on sports betting platforms. ALT Sports Data recently secured a deal with Formula 1, becoming its official betting supplier. This partnership, along with others like X Games and the World Surf League, allows the company to provide data that supports a variety of betting opportunities. Popular sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings are among ALT Sports Data's clients. The company’s strategy to drive sports fan engagement and expand the betting landscape is based on four key pillars: 1. League Services: This includes data rights deals, marketing, integrity, and other collaborative efforts with sports rights owners. ALT Sports Data currently works with approximately 25 sports and leagues, ranging from combat and motor sports to action and niche sports. 2. Product Development: The product arm of the company supports league relationships through data science, distribution, infrastructure, and game development. Ballard highlighted that in some cases, they are involved in building the back-end data infrastructure for a league to facilitate betting. 3. Media Division: ALT Sports Data runs its own affiliate site, NXTbets, which uses content to direct people to sports betting platforms. This site has become a significant part of the company’s business, operating similarly to industry players like Catena Media and Better Collective. 4. Game Creation: The company is developing its own games to expand beyond traditional sports betting into areas like social, peer-to-peer, daily fantasy, and free-to-play games. Ballard emphasized that their goal is not to monopolize but to demonstrate best practices through innovation. The fresh funding from Eberg Capital and Relay Ventures, with participation from Motley Fool Ventures, Scrum Ventures, and other individual investors, will be used to further develop these strategies. One of the primary focuses is on creating more tools and partnerships to enhance the engagement of fans in niche sports. For example, ALT Sports Data is targeting fans who are not highly invested in popular sports but are passionate about surfing or the X Games, aiming to bring them into the broader sports betting ecosystem. Ballard believes that by focusing on these emerging sports, ALT Sports Data can help leagues engage with their fan bases more effectively and open up new revenue streams. "Emerging niche sports have these massive audiences behind them that are pretty passionate, and give the leagues a new point of engagement, a new opportunity to drive more fans to their sport, and ultimately drive new revenue streams into them," he said. Industry insiders see ALT Sports Data’s approach as innovative and potentially disruptive. The startup is targeting a market segment that larger data providers have often overlooked, which could lead to a more diverse and vibrant sports betting landscape. By building tailored data infrastructure and engaging media platforms, ALT Sports Data is poised to not only enhance fan experiences but also contribute to the financial sustainability of niche sports leagues. As the sports betting market continues to grow, ALT Sports Data’s unique focus on underrepresented sports could position it as a key player in this evolving industry. ALT Sports Data is a young but ambitious company with a strong background in consumer technology, thanks to its founders’ experience at GoPro. The company’s blend of data expertise, media savvy, and game development skills sets it apart, making it a promising entrant in the competitive world of sports data and betting.