On April 22, 2026, shares of Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) fell $3.80 per share, or approximately 22.6%, closing at $13.04 after finishing the previous day at $16.84. Two market research firms had published reports that morning accusing the sports data company of working with black-market gambling operators.
A securities fraud class action now rests on those reports. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (KTMC) said it filed the suit for investors who bought or acquired Sportradar Class A ordinary shares between November 7, 2024 and April 21, 2026, inclusive. Anyone in that group has until July 17, 2026 to ask the court to serve as lead plaintiff.
The case
The suit is captioned Smale v. Sportradar Group AG, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-04112. It was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and is before Judge Gregory H. Woods.
The complaint alleges that throughout the class period, the defendants made materially false or misleading statements and left out adverse facts about the company’s business. It names three points. Sportradar allegedly worked with black-market gambling operators on purpose to raise revenue, despite promising strict legal and regulatory compliance and saying ethics and integrity were crucial to its operations. Its Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and compliance processes, the complaint says, were not as robust as defendants claimed. And so its statements about the business and prospects lacked a reasonable basis.
The complaint adds that Sportradar touted its due diligence, KYC process and overall compliance in sports betting during that period. These are allegations. The release does not say how the company has responded.
The two reports
The complaint says investors learned the truth on April 22, when Muddy Waters Research and Callisto Research each published an investigative report. Both found, according to the complaint, that Sportradar used a network of black-market gambling partners to drive a material share of its revenue.
Muddy Waters wrote that Sportradar “has actively aided and abetted illegal gambling across the world’s black and grey markets,” and called it a business strategy rather than an accident or an oversight. It said its claims rested on detailed conversations between its investigators and Sportradar sales executives.
Callisto looked at hundreds of gambling platforms. It reported finding evidence that over 270 individual platforms, more than a third of the 800 Sportradar claims to serve, use Sportradar’s products or services, or explicitly claim to, while operating illegally in regulated or prohibited gambling markets.
How the lead plaintiff process works
A lead plaintiff is a representative who acts for all class members in directing the litigation. It is usually the investor or small group with the largest financial interest who are also adequate and typical of the class. That person selects counsel, who become lead or class counsel if the court approves.
Investors can seek the role through KTMC or other counsel, or they can do nothing and remain absent class members. KTMC says the choice does not affect anyone’s ability to share in a recovery. Its attorney Jonathan Naji is the listed contact, and the firm says representation is on a contingency fee basis, with no cost to speak with an attorney.
