Sportsbook software providers fall into three groups: data providers, platform providers and development companies. Most comparison lists mix them up, which is why they are so hard to use. Here is how to tell them apart and what to check before you sign.
What kinds of sportsbook software providers are there?
Sportsbook software providers sell one of three different things, and a sportsbook needs at least two of them. Data providers sell odds and results. Platform providers sell or rent the betting platform itself. Development companies build a platform for you and hand it over. A list of the best sportsbook software that ranks these against each other is comparing a supplier of ingredients with a restaurant.
Data providers
They supply the odds, the fixtures and the results, prematch and live, through a feed your platform reads. LSports and Sportradar are well known examples. Every sportsbook needs one, whatever platform it runs on, and the contract is usually signed directly between the operator and the data provider.
Platform providers
They sell a finished sportsbook, as a white label or as a turnkey solution. Kambi, Sportradar, Altenar and SoftSwiss all publish turnkey sportsbook offers on their own sites. You get a proven platform quickly, and the code stays with them.
Development companies
They build the platform to your specification and transfer it to you. The design, the features and the code are yours, and you connect whichever data provider you choose. It takes longer than a finished platform, and there is no share of revenue afterwards. This is the group we belong to.
What the best sportsbook software has in common
Whichever group you buy from, good sportsbook software providers and sportsbook platform providers get the same things right. Use this as the checklist for every demo.
- Live markets suspend themselves when a goal is scored or the feed slows down.
- Settlement is automatic, with an odds history for every market for the day a player disputes a bet.
- Risk tools show liability per outcome and let you set limits per player group.
- Payments cover the methods your players already use, through providers that accept betting.
- Identity and age checks, deposit limits and self exclusion are built in, not added later.
- The admin lets your team change markets, limits and bonuses without a developer.
- Reporting matches what your regulator asks for.
Ten questions for any sportsbook software provider
Send the same list to all sportsbook software providers on your shortlist, in writing, and compare the answers side by side.
- Which of the three groups are you, really?
- Who owns the code, and who owns the player data?
- Which regulators has the platform been tested for?
- Can we choose our own odds and results provider?
- Which payment providers are already connected?
- How is the fee calculated, and is there a share of revenue?
- How long from signature to the first real bet?
- Who decides the next features, and can we pay for our own?
- What does a full data export look like if we leave?
- Can we speak to an operator who runs on your platform today?
Red flags when comparing sportsbook platform providers
- A price quoted before anyone asks about your markets, countries and licence.
- No clear answer about who owns the player data.
- A demo that never shows the admin, only the player side.
- "Unlimited customization" on a platform that is shared by many brands.
- No operator willing to talk to you about working with them.
How to compare offers fairly
Put every offer from the sportsbook software providers you talk to on the same sheet: setup cost, monthly cost, share of revenue, and what you keep if you leave. Then work out the total over the years you plan to run the brand. Offers that look cheap in the first year often turn out to be the most expensive over five, and the reverse is just as common.
If ownership comes out ahead, the next step is to start your own sportsbook with a development company. Our sportsbook development page shows what we build, and our guide on the white label sportsbook route covers the other side of the choice.
Looking at development companies?
We build sportsbooks to order, connect the data provider you choose, and hand the code over when we are done.