Sportradar has appointed Entain chief commercial officer Sameer Deen to be its new COO, as the supplier giant announced a 11% year on year (YoY) jump in Q1 revenue
Deen will join the New York-listed firm on 18 May. The business does not currently have a COO.
Deen has served as Entain’s chief commercial officer since December 2023.
He joined the Ladbrokes, Coral and bwin parent back in June 2021 as chief strategy officer and president of new ventures.
He then swapped out his new ventures brief to become president of Latam in May 2023.
Sportradar did not disclose Deen’s specific responsibilities when announcing his appointment but noted he will “oversee commercial and group operations while collaborating closely with the executive leadership team to advance the organisation’s strategy and growth”.
He will join a C-suite including CEO Carsten Koerl and CFO Craig Felenstein.
The addition of Deen comes after Sportradar brought forward its Q1 earnings report from its original date of 6 May against the backdrop of short seller reports.
The reports have wiped a fifth of Sportradar’s value since their release, in which they alleged the firm supported black market operators.
Q1 revenue increased 11% from €311.2m to €346.5m, driven by a 15% increase in betting technology revenue to €287.6m.
Sports content, technology and services revenue slipped 4% YoY to €58.9m.
Geographically, the US reported a 4% uptick in revenue to €89.4m, while the Rest of the World revenue climbed 14% to €257.1m.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 12% to €66m, with bosses pointing to the revenue increase and addition of IMG Arena as core drivers.
However, Q1 2025’s profit of €24m flipped to a €6m loss in the opening quarter of 2026.
Management said this was primarily due to a FX loss of €9m versus a gain of €28m in Q1 2025.
“The first quarter of 2026 also included higher depreciation and amortisation and finance costs primarily related to the acquisition of IMG ARENA, partially offset by lower income taxes,” Sportradar added.
Alongside the earnings reports, Sportradar confirmed that as of 24 April it had repurchased $228m worth of stock as part of its $1bn share buyback scheme.
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, full-year revenue is expected to hit between €1.557bn and €1.582bn.
Adjusted EBITDA is forecast to land between €390m and €400m, while free cash flow conversion is expected to exceed the 56% rate recorded in 2025.
Speaking on the results, Koerl said: “Sportradar’s first quarter growth reflects our premier position as the scaled leader in the expanding global sports data ecosystem.
“We continue to deepen our relationships across our expansive distribution network, providing additional content, products and services to our sportsbook, media and technology clients.
“Our confidence in our trajectory is demonstrated by the increased buyback activity this past quarter as well as the enhanced open market share repurchase programme announced today.”
Eyes will turn to Sportradar’s analyst call this afternoon as it is expected Koerl will field questions regarding the short reports.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s executive recruitment partner. It supports ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.
The post Sportradar taps Entain exec as new COO while Q1 revenue jumps 11% first appeared on EGR Intel.
Sameer Deen to move to the sports betting supplier next month, while company reports a €6m loss in Q1 due to FX headwinds
The post Sportradar taps Entain exec as new COO while Q1 revenue jumps 11% first appeared on EGR Intel.