Power Players: Sports betting

The fall of a federal prohibition against sports wagering in 2018 has brought opportunity for many.

For sportsbooks and the data distributors and technology providers that serve them, it has meant the opening of what some believe could grow into the world’s largest sports betting market.

For leagues and teams, it has created several lines of new or dramatically accelerated business, including the sale of live data feeds and sponsorships to sportsbook operators.

For networks, it’s brought the hope that viewers with money on the line will spend more time watching live sporting events at a time of unprecedented choice and competition.

For the states that have chosen to make sports betting legal, it has brought a new form of gambling to regulate and tax.

For executives who now find themselves dealing with any of the above, it represents a challenge to decipher, and perhaps an augmented career path through which to distinguish themselves.

What follows is a look at of some of those people — the leading strategists, policy-shapers and dealmakers in the emerging U.S. sports betting sector, culled from across sports, gaming, media, technology and public policy.

It’s a group you’ll be watching closely in the days, months and years to come.

Power Players: Sports betting

CASINOS / SPORTSBOOKS

SPORTS PROPERTIES

MEDIA

PUBLIC POLICY

CONSULTANTS

DATA AND TECHNOLOGY

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: May 11, 2026