Action Network is a US sports betting media company reaching tens of millions of users each month. It operates a mobile app and website with live odds from 40+ sportsbooks, betting data including public betting percentages and sharp money signals, editorial coverage, expert picks, player prop projections, an AI betting tool called Playbook, and automated bet tracking. Over 350 million bets have been tracked through the platform. The company is owned by Better Collective, a European sports betting media group.
History
Action Network was formed by the Chernin Group and announced in October 2017. It was a rollup of three established businesses: Sports Insights (founded 2004, known for public betting data and Bet Signals), FantasyLabs (analytics and daily fantasy tools), and the SportsAction mobile app. Chad Millman, former editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, joined as chief content officer.
The app launched in January 2018, timed months before the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in May 2018 and opened the US sports betting market state by state. The company grew to roughly 100 employees across editorial, product, and engineering.
In May 2021, Better Collective acquired Action Network for $240 million. Better Collective is a Danish sports betting media and affiliate group listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. The acquisition gave Better Collective a direct consumer media brand in the US market alongside its existing affiliate portfolio. Action operates as a separate business unit under Better Collective US, with CEO Patrick Keane reporting to US CEO Marc Pedersen.
Patrick Keane serves as CEO. Brian Mead is head of product.
FantasyLabs continues to operate as a separate brand under Better Collective, offering daily fantasy sports projections and lineup-building tools. In 2024, Action Network moved its fantasy football coverage to FantasyLabs NFL, a dedicated subscription product combining Sean Koerner and Chris Raybon projections with FantasyLabs data tools.
PRO Report
The PRO Report is Action Networks flagship betting data product, available with a PRO subscription. It aggregates five signals into a single game-by-game table:
- Sharp Action. Identifies games where respected bettors (sharps) are placing money, based on proprietary Bet Signals data inherited from Sports Insights. The signal tracks line movement patterns that correlate with professional betting.
- Big Money. Shows which sides and totals are attracting the largest monetary wagers, as opposed to simply the most tickets. A game with 70% of bets on one side but only 40% of money signals small bettors on one side and larger bets on the other.
- PRO Systems. Filters from a database of historical betting systems dating back to 2003. Systems are tested against archived betting data and monitored by analysts. Examples include situational angles (teams off a loss, division games, rest advantages) that have produced positive returns over large samples.
- Model Projections. Based on proprietary power ratings that produce a true line independent of market sentiment, public perception, or bookmaker shading. A signal appears when the model line differs from the market line by at least 5%.
- Top Experts. Tracks the best-performing expert pickers over recent periods, weighted by ROI and sample size.
Each signal can be used alone or combined. A common approach is filtering for games that show both Sharp Action and Model Projection signals, indicating that professional money and a statistical model agree on the same side.
Playbook
Playbook is an AI-powered betting assistant that runs on X (Twitter) and Discord. Tag @Playbook with a bet description or a screenshot of a pick, and it returns a link to a pre-loaded bet slip at the sportsbook of your choice. It covers NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and college basketball. Supported sportsbooks include DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365, and others. Playbook is free to use.
Playbook also handles odds comparison across sportsbooks when generating slips, selects the best available line for each leg, and can build optimized parlays. In the Action app, Playbook provides personalized bet recommendations based on your betting history.
Playbook has limitations: it does not support soccer, tennis, futures, teasers, or cross-sport parlays. It focuses on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football and basketball.
Action Labs
Action Labs is a separate suite of advanced tools aimed at serious bettors, launched in 2020. It was built on the Sports Insights terminal and offers features beyond the standard PRO subscription:
- Markets tool. Real-time odds from over 60 sportsbooks with side-by-side comparisons, hold percentage analysis, and a vig-free True Line to identify positive expected value bets.
- Systems tool. Build and backtest predictive models using millions of historical data points across a dozen leagues. Systems automatically scan incoming data and flag matching bets.
- Line history. Detailed charts showing how lines moved over time for any market.
Action Labs requires a separate subscription on top of PRO. It was the direct successor to the Sports Insights betting terminal and remains the deepest data product in the Action Network lineup.
Public Betting
Action Network displays public betting percentages for every game: the share of tickets placed on each side and the share of money wagered. The data comes from a network of offshore sportsbooks and spans over 15 years of historical records.
The divergence between ticket percentage and money percentage is the metric. A game where 80% of tickets are on the favorite but only 50% of the money signals heavy action on the underdog from larger bettors. The free tier shows ticket percentages. Money percentages require an EDGE or PRO subscription.
Betting Projections
Action Network offers model-based projections across sports:
- Model Projections (part of the PRO Report) compare proprietary power ratings against market lines across NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college sports.
- Player Prop Projections estimate statistical outcomes for individual players (passing yards, points, rebounds, strikeouts) and compare them against sportsbook prop lines. Available for NFL, NBA, MLB, and major events.
- PRO Systems surface historical betting patterns from a database covering two decades of results, tested for statistical significance.
Live Odds and Line Movement
The app displays live odds from over 40 sportsbooks, updated in near real time. Line movement charts show price changes over time for each side. Users can filter by sportsbook to see which book moved first or moved furthest. Alerts can be set for target line thresholds.
Action Network has more than 10 premium partnerships with US sportsbooks and daily fantasy operators, including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics Sportsbook, PointsBet, and PrizePicks. These partnerships provide odds feeds, exclusive offers, and access to betting data.
Mobile App
Action Network is available on iOS and Android. The first version was published in 2016 under the SportsAction brand before the rollup. The iOS app holds a 4.8 rating with over 35,000 ratings. The Android version has over 500,000 downloads and receives regular updates.
Key features in the app:
- Real-time odds and line movement tracking
- Personal bet scoreboard with play-by-play win probability
- Expert picks with a real-time feed of betting picks
- Live in-game lines for spread, moneyline, totals, player props, and futures
- Push alerts for line moves and cover status
- PRO subscription unlocks public betting data, player prop projections, ATS trends, and advanced alerts
Expert Picks and Editorial
Action Network employs a full editorial staff producing news, previews, betting analysis, and feature reporting. Coverage spans NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and basketball, golf, tennis, combat sports, and major events like the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the Kentucky Derby. The site also covers sports betting industry news, legalization updates, and bookmaker reviews with affiliate links.
College sports coverage is branded as BBOC (Big Bets on Campus). It is a dedicated vertical with its own analysts, podcast, X/Twitter account, and YouTube channel covering college football, basketball, and baseball from a betting perspective.
The education section publishes how-to guides on betting basics, line shopping, bankroll management, and using tools like the PRO Report and Playbook. The company has been cited by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
Partnerships
Action Network produces I’ll Take That Bet, a daily sports betting show streaming on ESPN+. A dedicated podcast network launched in 2018 with Cadence13 covers sports gambling analysis. SiriusXM runs a daily Action Network segment on its Fantasy Sports Radio channel. Darren Rovell came on board in late 2018 to cover the sports betting industry. The company also has media partnerships with the New York Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Podcasts
Action Network operates several podcasts available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube:
- Buckets — daily NBA betting show hosted by Matt Moore with rotating analysts covering sides, totals, and player props.
- Buckets WNBA — WNBA-focused offshoot.
- Payoff Pitch — flagship MLB betting podcast, episodes three times a week during the season with Sean Zerillo and rotating analysts.
- BBOC (Big Bets on Campus) — college sports betting podcast hosted by Stuckey, Collin Wilson, Michael Calabrese, and Joshua Nunn. Covers college football, basketball, and baseball.
- The Favorites — hosted by Chad Millman and professional bettor Simon Hunter.
- The Action Network Podcast — general sports betting show.
Key Experts
Several Action Network analysts have built large followings within the app and are referenced across the platform:
- Sean Koerner — Director of Predictive Analytics. Three-time winner of the FantasyPros expert accuracy contest. Builds proprietary NFL projections and has over 100,000 followers in the Action app.
- Stuckey — Senior Betting Analyst. First expert to reach 100,000 followers in the app. Specializes in college football and basketball. CFA charter holder with a background in derivatives analysis.
- Sean Zerillo — Senior Writer & Analyst. Over 100,000 followers. Runs MLB PRO Projections and covers MLB, MMA, and horse racing. Hosts the Payoff Pitch podcast.
- Brandon Anderson — Staff Writer. Over 100,000 followers. Specializes in futures markets (NFL, NBA). Host of Buckets podcast.
- Collin Wilson — Senior Writer. College sports specialist, co-founder of BBOC. Runs proprietary college football power ratings.
- Matt Moore — Senior NBA Writer. Nearly 20 years covering the NBA. Host of Buckets podcast. Formerly at CBS Sports and NBC Sports.
BetSync and Manual Tracking
BetSync is the automatic bet tracking feature. Bets placed at a linked sportsbook appear in the Action app instantly without manual entry. The exact list of supported books is unclear — different pages on the site list different integrations. The feature is free and does not require a subscription.
For bets outside supported books, manual entry is available through the app and web interface. The help center covers how to track free bets, futures, and college games by hand.
Social Media
- X — 245K followers, daily picks and news
- Instagram — betting content and clips
- Facebook — 31K followers, news and updates
- YouTube — videos and analysis
- TikTok — short-form betting content
- Twitch — live streams with experts
- Discord — 10K+ members, community discussion and picks
- LinkedIn — company page
Awards
The Action Network app won “Best Betting Product Experience” at the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association Awards three times.
Pricing
Free
- Live odds and line movements
- Public betting ticket percentages
- Expert picks
- BetSync auto-tracking
- Manual bet tracking
- Alerts
EDGE — $9.99/month or $59.99/year (7-day free trial available)
- Public ticket AND money percentages
- Custom line movement alerts
- Parlay and teaser tracking
- Against-the-spread trends
- Player prop projections
PRO — $29.99/month or $199.99/year
- All EDGE features
- PRO Report (Sharp Action, Big Money, PRO Systems, Model Projections, Top Experts)
- PRO Dashboard
- Exclusive content and access
See Also
- BetSync — supported books, states, and setup
- Bettin.gs — manual entry with tipster breakdown
- Betstamp Tracker — auto-sync with BetSync, Canadian focus