MLB Commissioner Removes Rose, Shoeless Joe from Permanently Ineligible List
Nearly eight months after the death of Pete Rose, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred removed the hit king from the league’s permanently ineligible list on May 13.
Amid an investigation into gambling allegations against Rose, the former Cincinnati Reds manager agreed to be placed on the list in August 1989. The historic announcement by Manfred clears a potential path for Rose’s long-awaited induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In conjunction with Manfred’s sweeping reversal, MLB also lifted the ban on “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and a host of other deceased players.
Jackson and seven teammates received a lifetime ban from professional baseball for their alleged involvement in the so-called 1919 Black Sox scandal. Despite acquittals on corruption charges, all eight White Sox players were placed on the list for their role in allegedly fixing the World Series. While Jackson agreed to a signed confession, he later denied any knowledge of the match-fixing conspiracy, claiming that he was coerced into signing the document.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to Jeffrey Lenkov, an attorney who petitioned for Rose’s reinstatement.
A comprehensive investigation into Rose’s gambling activity found that he placed 52 wagers on Reds games when he served as the team’s manager. More than a decade later, Rose admitted to placing wagers on the Reds, but not on the team to lose.
Following Rose’s death last September, illegal bookie Matt Bowyer claimed that he took action from the MLB legend. Bowyer, the bookie of choice for Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter, told the New York Post that he cut off Rose when the hit king eclipsed his $1,000 a wager average.
Jane Forbes Clark, board chairperson of the Hall of Fame, told ESPN that MLB’s policy shift will enable Rose and the others to be considered by the hall’s Historical Overview Committee. Rose is baseball’s all-time leader in career hits with 4,256.
Sportradar Encouraged By U.S. Trends With In-Play Betting
Several days after DraftKings drew attention for making inroads with in-game betting over the first quarter, Sportradar reiterated its stance for the U.S. market on live betting.
During the three-month period ended March 31, Sportradar established a strong position in the U.S., where the company has data agreements with three of the nation’s four largest sports leagues. For all markets, Sportradar generated consolidated revenue of $347.9 million, up 17 percent from the year-ago quarter. The company’s U.S. segment represented 28 percent of its overall revenue mix for the period, compared with 25 percent from the same quarter in 2024.
Moving forward, Sportradar projects its U.S. division to grow at a 23 percent CAGR. Last week, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins noted that live betting in baseball represents about 36 percent of the operator’s overall volume in the sport. While Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl indicated that in-game betting represents about 70 percent of total activity in the U.K., the U.S. is trending upward in some respects.
“Some books adapt quicker, some books are adopting slower,” said Koerl on the company’s first-quarter earnings call. “It’s a question of the marketing and where do you direct the people and how do you promote it.”
Sportradar, one of the world’s largest sports betting data providers, expanded its data partnership with MLB for eight years through 2032. According to statistics from H2 Global Capital, MLB ranks sixth worldwide in gross gaming revenue. The company’s managed trading services unit processed about 32 million tickets last year. MLB, which has taken an undisclosed equity stake in Sportradar, has enlisted the company to serve as the exclusive distributor of its official data, media feed and AV content.
Sportsbook Tech Providers Vie Over Discovery Dispute in Trade Secrets Suit
A sports betting technology supplier that has provided its source code to some of the nation’s largest sportsbooks urged a Nevada federal court to deny a motion from a former collaborator that seeks to delay a discovery ruling pending summary judgment.
The filing is the latest wrinkle in a protracted legal dispute between two sportsbook providers – Amelco USA, LLC and Internet Sports International (ISI). ISI, a Las Vegas-headquartered sportsbook software supplier, asked a judge last week to pause proceedings in its lawsuit against Amelco for allegedly stealing trade secrets.
ISI initially filed a lawsuit against Amelco in June 2023, alleging that the latter stole “tens of millions” worth of sportsbook software and code. By last November, ISI filed a motion with the court for partial summary judgment, surrounding the enforceability of two confidentiality agreements.
The two collaborated in 2019 on a retail sports betting solution for Wildwood Casino in Colorado, as Amelco brought on ISI to develop a series of kiosks inside the property. Shortly after completing a license agreement, ISI claimed that Amelco’s software was “not suited for use” in the U.S. market, according to court documents. ISI further alleged that the software could not be used in the U.S. without a complete overhaul.
While ISI acknowledged Amelco’s position as a mobile sports betting leader, the company claimed Amelco lacked the requisite understanding of the technical capabilities needed for executing a “kiosk project.” Once Amelco “completed its extraction” of ISI’s confidential trade secrets, the British company discarded the Nevada company, attorneys for ISI allege.
Amelco subsequently struck deals with some of the nation’s most prominent sportsbooks, including Fanatics Sportsbook and Hard Rock BET. In the 79-page November brief, attorneys for ISI claimed they did not seek a complete resolution of the case or a ruling on whether the company breached a contract by allegedly misappropriating trade secrets. Instead, ISI asked the court to resolve issues of applicability with a 2019 non-disclosure agreement between the companies.
For its part, Amelco claims that ISI failed to produce key evidence on the software and code until the discovery process had closed. Amelco believes ISI is evading scrutiny over alleged discovery misconduct and has asked the court to proceed. In a filing on May 12, Amelco asked a Nevada district court to deny ISI’s motion to stay, arguing that one would create an additional burden on the court.
ISI, meanwhile, asked the court to delay proceedings on discovery pending summary judgment. Alternatively, ISI asked for an extension to July 17 to respond to Amelco’s motion.
“ISI will suffer no hardship from being required to proceed with the lawsuit it filed, and ISI does not need an additional two months to oppose,” Amelco wrote in the brief.
