An official data feed is a real-time stream of match events — goals, points, cards, corners, possession, ball position, serve and rally data — sold by a rights holder (a league, a federation, or a data company with exclusive rights) to sportsbooks for settling bets and pricing in-play markets.
Definition
An official data feed is a real-time stream of match events — goals, points, cards, corners, possession, ball position, serve and rally data — sold by a rights holder (a league, a federation, or a data company with exclusive rights) to sportsbooks for settling bets and pricing in-play markets. "Official" means the data is sourced directly from the venue under a licensing agreement, as opposed to "scouted" data collected by someone watching a stream, which is slower and less reliable.
Some jurisdictions and competitions mandate the use of official data for certain markets.
Data feeds are core sportsbook infrastructure: in-play betting depends on knowing the state of the game milliseconds after it changes, and settlement depends on an authoritative record of what happened. The cost of official data rights is significant and is one of the fixed costs behind a sportsbook's margins.
In context
For affiliates, official data feeds explain some of the operator differences and settlement realities worth covering. An operator using fast official data can offer deeper, more reliable in-play markets and settle bets quickly and accurately; one relying on slower scouted data may suspend markets more often and settle later.
Disputes over whether a goal, card or point was correctly recorded usually trace to the data feed and are resolved against the official source, which is why the operator's data provider matters for settlement accuracy.
Content can note which operators are known for strong in-play coverage and fast, accurate settlement, and explain that a market being suspended mid-event is often the book protecting itself during a data delay, not an attempt to deny a bet. It is also worth explaining that official-data mandates in some markets mean bets on certain events can only be settled using the licensed feed, so a discrepancy with what a viewer saw on a stream (which has its own delay) is resolved by the official record.
Standard framing applies: this is factual operator and betting-mechanics information, age-gated, with responsible-gambling messaging.
Worked example
An affiliate's in-play betting guide explains operators price and settle from real-time data feeds, that official feeds are faster and more authoritative than scouted ones, and that a market suspended mid-event is usually the book protecting against a data delay. It notes settlement follows the official record even if a stream showed something a moment earlier.
Age and responsible-gambling messaging are present.
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