Sportradar Group AG (SRAD) Securities Class Action Lawsuit Update

• Case Name: Smale v. Sportradar Group AG, et al.
• Case No.: 1:26-cv-04112
• Court: United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• Filing Date: May 18, 2026
• Class Period: November 7, 2024 -- April 21, 2026, inclusive

Introduction

On May 18, 2026, a federal securities class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Sportradar Group AG, its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Carsten Koerl, and its Chief Financial Officer Craig Felenstein. The complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Sportradar Class A ordinary shares between November 7, 2024, and April 21, 2026, inclusive.

According to the complaint, Sportradar publicly emphasized a business posture centered on integrity and compliance. The complaint alleges Sportradar told investors it placed integrity at the center of its business, maintained a four-level KYC/compliance process, and worked only with licensed operators. CEO Carsten Koerl went so far as to liken the company to "the SEC or the FBI" of the gambling industry on national television. The complaint alleges investors purchased Sportradar shares at artificially inflated prices while defendants’ compliance-related statements remained undisclosed or misleading.

The alleged corrective disclosure came on April 22, 2026. Two investigative research firms, Muddy Waters Research and Callisto Research, separately published reports on April 22, 2026, alleging that Sportradar intentionally utilized or worked with black-market gambling operators as part of its business strategy. Muddy Waters claimed the company "actively aided and abetted illegal gambling" across global black and grey markets, while Callisto reported finding evidence suggesting that more than 270 platforms were using Sportradar’s services, or claiming to do so, while operating illegally. Following publication of the reports, Sportradar shares fell $3.80 per share, or approximately 22.6%, from a close of $16.84 on April 21, 2026, to $13.04 on April 22, 2026.

Backdrop and Business Context

Sportradar provides data, odds, risk management, streaming, and fraud-monitoring tools to the global sports betting industry. Its clients include betting operators, media companies, and sports organizations. The complaint says Sportradar partners with leagues such as the NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, and FIFA to collect and distribute live sports data.

The company operates through two principal business groups: Betting Technology & Solutions and Sports Content, Technology & Services. The first supplies real-time data, odds, managed trading services, and gaming tools. The second delivers media products, fan engagement tools, and integrity services.

That “integrity” label matters to the complaint’s theory: Sportradar allegedly positioned itself as a compliance-minded monitor of suspicious betting activity, not just a data provider. According to the complaint, that public image became central to the alleged fraud.

Promises Made vs. Reality

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Sportradar and its senior executives repeatedly presented the company as legally compliant and ethically rigorous. Beginning with the filing of third quarter 2024 financial results on November 7, 2024, and continuing through successive quarterly and annual filings, the company repeatedly directed investors to risk factors acknowledging that it was "subject to a variety of U.S. and foreign laws on sports betting" and that non-compliance "could expose [it] to claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, license reviews, litigation and investigations by regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity." Yet the company consistently reassured investors by confirming that "to date, we have obtained all licenses, authorizations, findings of suitability, registrations, permits and approvals necessary for our current operations" and that it made "good faith efforts to comply with all local requirements."

The complaint identifies additional compliance-related statements in April and November 2025. On April 1, 2025, Defendant Koerl appeared on CNBC's "MAD MONEY" and, when host Jim Cramer suggested Sportradar was "in some ways the SEC for gambling," Koerl corrected him: the company was actually "the SEC or the FBI" for the industry. Sportradar's publicly available Code of Business Conduct and Ethics reinforced this posture, declaring that the company "place[d] integrity, transparency and professionalism at the heart of all [it] do[es]" and that conducting business in a manner that "upholds [its] high standards of ethics and integrity" was "crucial."

The compliance narrative reached its most detailed articulation during the third quarter 2025 earnings call on November 5, 2025. When a Citizens Bank analyst directly asked about "the noise around the business with your exposure to certain markets, whether they're gray or beyond that," Koerl assured investors that Sportradar maintained a "four-level process" confirming that it "only work[s] with licensed operators," including contracts "enabling those operators to only work in the territory where they are licensed in." He emphasized that the company deployed "a global compliance team, which is making an intensive KYC with every operator," working alongside an "internal audit" process to identify instances where Sportradar's "content is popping up in markets which are not licensed." Koerl characterized such occurrences as affecting only "a handful of cases every year" and stressed that Sportradar was "monitoring this very closely."

The complaint alleges that the April 22, 2026 reports presented a starkly different account. On April 22, 2026, Muddy Waters Research published a report asserting that Sportradar "has actively aided and abetted illegal gambling across the world's black and grey markets - not as an accident or an oversight, but as a business strategy." Muddy Waters described how its investigators posed as sportsbook operators at the International Casinos Exhibition and were allegedly walked through Sportradar's "key product offerings for each of these illegal markets" by an Asia-focused sales executive who "bragged that [Sportradar] 'serves everyone'" and even "offer[ed] to solicit assistance from his clients" to help the investigators "quickly set up operations." The executive reportedly offered an introduction to the "infamous Yabo Group," described as not only China's largest illegal operator but one "notorious" for using Cambodian customer service centers "engaged in human trafficking, modern slavery, kidnapping and torture of its workforce." Separately, Callisto Research reported finding evidence that over 270 platforms, more than a third of the 800 Sportradar claimed to serve, were using the company's products while operating illegally in regulated or prohibited markets. As alleged in the complaint, Sportradar's portrayal of robust compliance and ethical business practices was materially false and misleading, as the company intentionally worked with black-market gambling operators to increase its revenues while assuring investors that integrity was at the heart of everything it did.

Timeline of Alleged Misconduct and Disclosures

Class Period: November 7, 2024 -- April 21, 2026, inclusive

November 7, 2024: Class Period opens. Sportradar files third quarter 2024 financial results. The accompanying press release references risk factors from the 2023 Annual Report, including acknowledgments of regulatory risks but also assurances of compliance with all local requirements. Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

March 19, 2025: Sportradar publishes fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results. The press release again references risk factors from the 2023 Annual Report. Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

March 20, 2025: The 2024 Annual Report is filed. The Company reiterates that it is subject to various laws on sports betting, confirms it has obtained all necessary licenses, and states it makes good faith efforts to comply with local requirements. Defendants Koerl and Felenstein sign and certify the report.

April 1, 2025: Defendant Koerl appears on CNBC's "MAD MONEY" and describes Sportradar as "the SEC or the FBI" of the gambling industry.

May 12, 2025: First quarter 2025 financial results published. Press release references 2024 Annual Report risk factors. Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

August 5, 2025: Second quarter 2025 financial results published. Press release references 2024 Annual Report risk factors. Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

November 5, 2025: Third quarter 2025 financial results published. During the accompanying earnings call, Defendant Koerl details the Company's "four-level process" for working only with licensed operators, describes an "intensive KYC" by a global compliance team, and states that instances of content appearing in unlicensed markets happen only "a handful of cases every year." Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

March 3, 2026: Fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results published. Press release references 2024 Annual Report risk factors. Defendant Felenstein signs the Form 6-K.

March 27, 2026: The 2025 Annual Report is filed. Sportradar reiterates compliance language substantially similar to prior years, confirming it has obtained necessary licenses and makes good faith efforts to comply with local requirements. Defendants Koerl and Felenstein sign and certify the report.

April 22, 2026: Alleged corrective disclosure. Muddy Waters Research and Callisto Research separately publish reports revealing Sportradar's alleged ties to a network of black-market gambling operators. Muddy Waters alleges the company "actively aided and abetted illegal gambling" as a business strategy. Callisto reported finding evidence suggesting that over 270 platforms were using Sportradar’s services, or claiming to do so, while operating illegally. Sportradar Class A ordinary shares plummeted $3.80 per share, or approximately 22.6%, closing at $13.04.

Investor Harm and Market Reaction

The complaint alleges that, following the April 22, 2026 reports, Sportradar shareholders suffered losses as the share price declined sharply. Sportradar Class A ordinary shares fell $3.80 per share in a single trading session, declining approximately 22.6% from a closing price of $16.84 on April 21, 2026, to a close of $13.04 on April 22, 2026. The complaint links the decline to the market’s reaction to the Muddy Waters and Callisto reports.

The damage extended beyond the initial day of disclosure. Public market data later showed SRAD trading near its 52-week low after the reports. Following the reports, Jefferies downgraded Sportradar from Buy to Hold on April 24, 2026, cutting its price target from $30.00 to $14.00. MarketBeat later reported that Benchmark reduced its SRAD price target from $23.00 to $16.00.

Litigation & Procedural Posture

The complaint asserts claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5 against all Defendants, and under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the Individual Defendants as control persons of Sportradar. The defendants are Sportradar Group AG, CEO Carsten Koerl, and CFO Craig Felenstein.

Scienter allegations center on the Individual Defendants' positions of authority and access to material non-public information about the Company's actual business practices. The complaint alleges that each Individual Defendant, by virtue of their high-level positions, "possessed the power and authority to control the contents of Sportradar's reports to the SEC, press releases, and presentations to securities analysts, money and portfolio managers, and institutional investors." Each was provided with or had access to copies of the Company's reports prior to or shortly after issuance and had the ability to prevent their issuance or cause them to be corrected. The complaint further alleges that the Individual Defendants "knew that the adverse facts specified herein had not been disclosed to, and/or were being concealed from, the public, and that the positive representations that were being made were then materially false and/or misleading." The complaint does not cite specific insider sales or confidential witness testimony.

Procedurally, the case is in its earliest stages, having been filed on May 18, 2026. Lead plaintiff submissions are due by July 17, 2026. The class is defined as all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Sportradar Class A ordinary shares during the Class Period of November 7, 2024, through April 21, 2026, inclusive. Class certification has not yet been ruled on. Defendants are expected to respond to the complaint in due course, and motions practice, including any motion to dismiss, will follow.

SEC Filings & Risk Factors

Throughout the Class Period, Sportradar's periodic SEC filings presented a consistent but, according to the complaint, materially incomplete picture of the company's regulatory risk profile. The complaint identifies a pattern in which the company acknowledged the existence of legal and regulatory risks in general terms while simultaneously providing assurances that effectively neutralized those warnings.

The 2023 Annual Report, filed on March 20, 2024, and signed by Defendant Koerl, stated that Sportradar was "subject to a variety of U.S. and foreign laws on sports betting" and acknowledged that non-compliance "could expose [the Company] to claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, license reviews, litigation and investigations by regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity." The report further noted that "[t]he legality of sports betting services in certain jurisdictions is not clear or is open to interpretation," a reference to so-called grey markets. However, the report also affirmed that the company made "good faith efforts to comply with all local requirements" and confirmed that "to date, we have obtained all licenses, authorizations, findings of suitability, registrations, permits and approvals necessary for our current operations."

This language was repeated in substantially similar form across each successive filing during the Class Period. The 2024 Annual Report, filed on March 20, 2025, and signed by both Defendants Koerl and Felenstein, reiterated the same risk factors and the same assurance that all necessary licenses had been obtained. The 2025 Annual Report, filed on March 27, 2026, followed the identical pattern, while adding language acknowledging that "[g]overnmental authorities could view [Sportradar] or [its] clients as having violated local laws despite efforts and good faith attempts to obtain all applicable licenses or local requirements."

The quarterly press releases filed on Forms 6-K during the Class Period, covering the third quarter of 2024 through the fourth quarter of 2025, each noted that the company "may be subject to certain risks" and referenced the risk factors in the most recent annual report. Each of these quarterly filings was signed by Defendant Felenstein.

The complaint alleges that these filings were materially misleading because they framed regulatory and compliance risks as hypothetical possibilities rather than reflecting the reality that Sportradar was, according to the allegations, intentionally working with black-market gambling operators. The risk factor disclosures characterized the legality of sports betting in certain jurisdictions as "not clear or open to interpretation" and presented non-compliance as a conditional risk, using phrases such as "could expose" and "despite good faith efforts." According to the complaint, these characterizations were misleading because Sportradar's exposure to illegal operators was not a matter of ambiguous legal interpretation or inadvertent non-compliance but rather a deliberate business strategy.

The alleged corrective disclosures on April 22, 2026, revealed what the complaint says the prior filings had concealed. Muddy Waters claimed it found evidence of direct connections between Sportradar and illegal operators across Russia, Turkey, and multiple Asian markets, asserting that the company "intentionally combines a 'check-the-box' KYC review with a 'see nothing, know nothing' approach to illegal markets." Callisto identified over 270 platforms operating illegally while using Sportradar's products and reported that three regulators in North America and Europe had already commenced reviews. The contrast between the filings' reassuring language about compliance and the investigative reports' findings forms the core of the complaint's securities fraud theory.

How to Join the Sportradar Group AG (SRAD) Class Action

• Confirm you purchased SRAD shares between November 7, 2024, and April 21, 2026
• Review eligibility details
• Click here to check eligibility

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