Premier league players challenge use of data by betting firms
A growing group of professional footballers in the UK are challenging how their personal performance data is being collected, used, and ultimately monetised.
The global sports data and technology group (GSDT) has recently submitted firm “stop processing” requests on behalf of footballers and other sportspeople.
This forms the latest part of its ‘project red card’ initiative, an ethical campaign launched five years ago, which comprises over 850 current and former players from the premier league, English football league, national league, and Scottish Premiership.
At the centre of the issue is the sharing – or selling, of player data, ranging between running speed, pass completion, and positioning, by betting firms, game developers, and data companies alike.
That information, the players have argued, is being commercialised without compensation, and sometimes without consent.
“The details of their passing accuracy, their fitness, their speed, all of those things which you see in various gises on countless websites or games – that’s how players are assessed now”, said Richard Dutton, a data privacy expert.
Udo Onwere, a former Fulham player-turned lawyer told City AM: “It’s not just about money. It’s about how a player’s personal information is being used by companies they might have strong moral objections to”.
Ethical concerns
The data in question is harvested in bulk by firms like Opta, Stats Perform, and Genius Sports, before being sold onto third parties – broadcasters, fantasy league operations, and more controversially, gambling companies.
In 2019, Genius Sports secured exclusive data rights from the Premier League, EFL and Scottish premiership in a deal that allowed them to sell live match statistics to betting operators globally.
These are lucrative arrangements. The global sports data market is valued in the billions, and football data is its most valuable asset.
Yet, the players themselves who generate this data see none of the commercial benefit.
As it stands, there is no legal requirement for firms to seek player consent to collect or monetise this data.
However, under the general data protection regulation (GDPR), personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently.
This includes obtaining consent for processing personal data for commercial use.
“I think the main way to look at this is that data itself is a intellectual property, but some of the way in which it is arranged or shared in databases could be protected by copyright”, Onwere told City AM. “That might be a way in which the sportsman could protect their data”.
Indeed, the most contentious issue for many players isn’t necessarily the commercial aspect of this data being shared – it’s the connection to betting and gaming industries.
For players with religious beliefs or personal objections to gambling, the idea of their personal performance being used to drive gambling activity is deeply problematic.
“There are players who would never associated themselves with a betting brand, yet their data is being used by those firms constantly”, Onwere told City AM.
This could lead players to believe that by having their data used to fuel betting platform, they are being made complicit in an industry that contradicts their core beliefs.
Bet365, Flutter, and William Hill refused to comment.
The power of performance data
Once the preserve of sports scientists and coaches alone, bio-metric data has become a central pillar of professional football.
Advanced systems now track players across every training session and match, compiling minute by minute readouts and speed, positioning, fatigue, and more.
Clubs like Brighton and Brentford have famously built scouting and recruitment models on data-led principles.
Brentford, for example, used data analysis to identify undervalued players in leagues across Europe.
The signings of Neal Maupay and Ollie Watkins, both sold later for significant profits, are often cited as case studies of data driven success.
Liverpool’s director of research, Ian Graham, introduced a proprietary metric called ‘goal probability added’ to quantify the value of every on-pitch action.
This move contributed to recruitment decisions such as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk – signings pivotal to Liverpool’s champions league and premier league wins.
But that’s just how clubs operate, now. And, as Onwere pointed out, if footballers were to opt out of their data being recorded “they may not be so marketable in other ways, because they’ll lose out on the ways these companies expose data on other players”.
By drawing a hard line on data rights, players could risk losing out on opportunities tied to performance analysis, brand development, and even post-career media opportunities.
Clubs and analysts increasingly rely on granular data to evaluate talent, manage fitness, and support coaching.
Dries Belaen, head of recruitment at Beligan side Anderlecht, said: “Of course I would say that you should never recruit based on data alone… but we will also not only recruit a player based on video or live scouting. We need the full picture”.
Others have warned that giving players individual consent rights could complicate the seamless ecosystem of live, real-time data sharing that underpins everything from TV broadcast graphics, to fantasy football.
There are also questions of revenue. Some industry voices argue that if data rights were formalised, much like image rights, players could negotiate to monetise their stats, opening a new stream of income.
But that would require restructuring, broadcasting, licensing and betting agreements across the board.
“Players have become mini businesses themselves”, Onwere added. “Plenty of premier league clubs put huge amounts of emphasis on player data before making any kind of monetary bid in the transfer market”.
Still, players like those putting forward these “stop processing” requests believe ethical lines are being crossed.
“Many people still don’t understand how this industry works and don’t realise how important accurate data is to a player’s value and career”, said GSDT’s Rob Slade. “It is crucial that we get this right for all players”.