Key Takeaways
- Michael Jordan questioned how betting companies assess athletes’ tendencies during a Sept. 29 discussion with DraftKings and Sportradar executives.
- Sportradar’s AI pitch covered personalized products and faster development, extending beyond predictions about sporting outcomes.
- Jordan has investment and advisory ties to both companies; the exchange does not establish that an AI prediction system failed.
Betting companies study an athlete’s tendencies to estimate what happens next. But Michael Jordan says his focus on the court was always reacting to the moment and finding a way to win.
Speaking at SBC Summit in Lisbon on Sept. 29, Jordan explored that difference alongside DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and Sportradar founder and CEO Carsten Koerl.
The discussion also covered AI and personalized gambling products, highlighting two distinct ambitions: anticipating what athletes will do and understanding what bettors want to play.
Michael Jordan Explains What Betting Models Look at Differently
After a presentation about Sportradar’s Playradar product, Jordan focused on the decisions athletes make during competition.
“The way you look at it and the way I look at it as an athlete is totally different,” he said, according to SBC Americas’ eyewitness liveblog.
Jordan compared predictions about a golfer’s shot with an analysis of whether a basketball player would drive left or right.
He explained how athletes respond to what is in front of them.
An athlete’s decision depends on the circumstances as they unfold, while observers can examine patterns across previous performances.
“I don’t have a weakness,” he said, according to Gambling Insider.
AI’s Betting Pitch Extends Beyond Picking Winners
Sportradar founder Koerl described AI agents potentially handling tasks across payout algorithms, mathematical models, security and testing.
He also discussed the ability “to predict player behaviors and put that in a personalized product set.”
Those applications involve several different commercial ambitions.
Automating development could help suppliers build products faster, while personalization could help operators decide which experiences to offer individual customers.
Sportradar’s own product materials make the engagement objective explicit.
The company launched its Playradar brand in March, outlining products that combine sports footage, live data and casino mechanics.
Its plans included a live prediction product allowing customers to watch streams and play on the same screen.
At that launch, Koerl said the content was designed to help operators “increase player value and session length.”
Michael Jordan Has a Stake in the Industry He Questioned
Jordan’s comments also came from someone with established business relationships across the betting sector.
DraftKings announced in September 2020 that he would receive an equity interest in exchange for advising its board on business initiatives.
Sportradar announced a year later that Jordan, already an investor, would increase his investment and become a special adviser to its board.
For bettors, the unresolved issue is what each AI claim actually promises.
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Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
