Michael Jordan, Sportradar and DraftKings on the Future of Sports Business

What happens when an athlete, a sports data entrepreneur and a gaming executive examine the same industry from three different perspectives? At SBC Summit in Lisbon, Michael Jordan, Sportradar founder and CEO Carsten Koerl, and DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins explored how technology is changing sport for fans, athletes and businesses alike.

The Leadership in Sports Business discussion, moderated by television presenter Kirsty Gallacher on the Super Stage at MEO Arena, ranged from AI and real-time data to prediction markets, iGaming and responsible gambling. Running through it was a question for every company working in the sector: as new technology brings fans closer to the action, how can businesses build experiences that remain valuable and responsible over time?

From watching a game to participating in it

Koerl described a shift from a relatively uniform viewing experience towards one shaped around the individual fan. Sports businesses can now learn more about what people follow and use data to offer relevant content, whether that concerns a particular team, athlete or moment in a match. He sees the next stage as moving beyond personalisation towards experiences customised for each user.

Robins argued that the underlying fan motivation has not changed as much as the technology. People watch sport because they care about what happens. Fantasy sports and betting can give them an interest in a game even when their favourite team is not playing. For DraftKings, he said, the commercial challenge is to serve those different interests without forcing customers to move between a collection of disconnected products.

That thinking informed the company’s Super App, which brings several DraftKings experiences together. Robins noted that advances in technology have made this more practical: an app can now combine more functions while still providing the speed and performance customers expect.

Jordan approached fan engagement from the other side of the court. As a player, he said, he was focused on winning, not on statistics or bets placed by spectators. His later experience as a team owner and investor gave him a fuller view of the business built around sport. Today’s fans have more information and more ways to participate, but that also means athletes’ actions are watched and interpreted more closely.

Jordan suggested that modern players face pressures beyond performance itself, from maintaining a personal brand to responding to constant public attention. Yet he was clear about where he would place his own focus if he were competing today: on his opponent and on what he could do to win the game.

Sports data moves into the foreground

Koerl traced the development of sports data from manual collection at venues to automated systems that capture detailed information about player movements. This change is essential to live betting, where a delay of even a fraction of a second can matter. Data must be collected, checked, processed and delivered at speed before it can support a real-time product.

But Koerl’s point extended beyond betting. Data can also enrich a broadcast and help explain what viewers are seeing. He described AI-driven basketball analysis that uses large quantities of historical and player data to predict how a passage of play might develop. In that setting, data is no longer simply a record of what happened. It becomes part of how the game is presented to the audience.

The discussion highlighted a broader commercial shift for companies operating between sport, media and technology. Fans may encounter the same underlying data in a broadcast graphic, a personalised feed, a fantasy product or a live betting market. Developing those services requires technical investment, rights agreements and an understanding of what genuinely improves the fan experience.

Koerl also pointed to growing interest in individual athletes. As younger fans follow players as well as teams, he expects demand for more detailed player data and related markets to increase. His view of the future is increasingly real-time, customised and supported by AI systems that can anticipate what a user wants to see.

Betting, iGaming and prediction markets

The panel examined how sports betting has expanded beyond traditional pre-match outcomes. Live markets, player-specific propositions and products built around detailed sports data give fans more ways to engage while a contest is taking place.

Koerl then described work connecting live sports content with gaming experiences. In a demonstration during the session, Sportradar showed an approach that combines sports clips with an arcade-style product. He also outlined how different AI agents could assist with elements of game development, including design, mathematics, compliance and testing. For Koerl, the opportunity lies in creating new products and experiences, rather than using AI only to reduce costs.

Jordan’s response provided a useful counterpoint. An athlete makes decisions in reaction to the defence, the conditions and the immediate demands of competition. Those choices cannot be reduced entirely to a historical average or a betting proposition. The uncertainty that makes sport difficult to predict is also what makes it compelling.

Robins discussed the growth of iGaming from the standpoint of customer demand. He argued that where demand exists, offering products in legal and regulated markets provides a better route than leaving customers to unregulated alternatives. He also acknowledged that the development of prediction markets in the United States presents a different kind of uncertainty.

For DraftKings, the question is not simply whether prediction markets become a lasting business. Their future also depends on legal and regulatory decisions outside the company’s control. Robins said his approach is to position the business for more than one outcome: to take part if the market develops sustainably while remaining prepared if the regulatory landscape changes.

It was an example of a broader leadership principle he returned to during the session. Executives cannot always distinguish a lasting trend from a temporary surge in interest. They can, however, avoid making their company dependent on only one forecast of the future.

Responsibility as part of the customer experience

As sports and gaming products become more immediate and personalised, Gallacher raised the question of responsible engagement. Robins said DraftKings works with sports organisations to address abusive behaviour directed at athletes, including warnings and, where necessary, bans from its platform.

He also discussed tools intended to help customers manage their own activity, such as spending limits and cooling-off periods. His argument was that responsible gambling cannot sit only in a policy document or a separate department. It must influence product design, customer service and the decisions employees make throughout the business.

Robins framed that commitment as important to long-term commercial success as well as customer welfare. A business built around lasting customer relationships, he argued, needs people to have positive experiences and to use its products within their means.

Authenticity and leadership under pressure

Asked how he evaluates opportunities outside basketball, Jordan emphasised authenticity. He said he wants a genuine connection to the businesses and people with whom he works. A public figure who becomes involved in a company also becomes part of how consumers perceive it; if the relationship does not feel credible, that disconnect matters.

He cited NASCAR as a sport with which he had a personal history through his family. Jordan saw an opportunity to help it reach audiences beyond its traditional base, but his interest was rooted in a connection that existed long before the investment.

The panel’s closing exchanges were lighter, touching on golf and the three speakers’ competitive instincts. They also underlined the differences in how each man sees risk. Koerl spoke about building technology for possibilities that are still emerging. Robins described preparing a company for several plausible futures. Jordan repeatedly returned to the discipline of competition: react to what is in front of you, make the best decision you can and try to win.

For the sports business and gaming sectors, the discussion offered no single prediction of what comes next. It showed why the next phase will be shaped by several forces at once: richer data, faster products, changing fan habits, regulatory decisions and the continuing unpredictability of sport itself.