Can Data Beat the Bookmakers?
Who’s better at predicting the outcome of a soccer match—a statistician or an octopus? And what happens when data science, betting markets, and soccer fandom collide? In this entertaining transatlantic conversation, our speakers will explore how data science, betting platforms, and predictive modeling are transforming the way we analyze, watch, and engage with soccer.
From World Cup forecasting and match prediction to the growing influence of sports betting and analytics-driven decision-making, the discussion will examine how quantitative models are reshaping the game–both on and off the field. Blending insight, humor, and criticism, Jonathan D. Cohen, author of Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling and Dr. Andreas Groll, Chair of Applied Statistics & Data Science at Technical University Dortmund, will engage the audience in a lively debate on whether algorithms, bookmakers, or fans themselves truly understand the game best.
Admission is free and open to everyone, but registration for a day pass is required.
*Please make sure you choose June 22 from the drop down when you register.
Taking place during Germany Day at the German House of Soccer, a German Football Association (DFB) initiative surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026, this session is organized by UA Ruhr, Columbia Global Reports, and DWIH New York. The talkshow-style panel will explore the role of statistics, predictive modeling, and sports betting in modern soccer in an accessible and entertaining format for soccer fans, academics, and the German-American community.
see the full program of events
German House of Soccer
Chelsea Industrial
535-551 W 28th St
New York, NY 10001
In Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling, historian Jonathan D. Cohen lays out the astonishing emergence of online sports gambling, from sportsbook executives drafting legislation to an addicted gambler confessing their $300,000 losses. Sports gambling is here to stay, and the stakes could not be higher. Losing Big explains how this brewing crisis came to be, and how it can be addressed before new generations get hooked.
Columbia Global Reports is a nonprofit publishing imprint from Columbia University that commissions authors to produce works of original thinking and on-site reporting from all over the world, on a wide range of topics.
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