In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sit down with 10-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. to discuss his new venture, Anchor Line Sports, a sports data company that supports betting in the Olympic ecosystem.
Earlier today, SwimSwam published the news that Gary’s company, Anchor Line Sports, had entered into an exclusive partnership with ALT Sports Data to provide analytics, and market infrastructure for Olympic-category sports, beginning with swimming.
The reaction from SwimSwam readers was immediate and divided. Most fans questioned whether sports betting belongs in swimming at all. Others voiced concerns about athlete welfare, integrity, youth participation, and whether Olympic sports should remain separate from wagering.
Gary did anticipate this response. Rather than avoid the criticism, he has jumped into the comment section to add context. Additionally, he agreed to sit down with SwimSwam for a conversation about the fears, why he believes Olympic sports cannot ignore its growth, and why he has chosen to build Anchor Line Sports despite knowing the pushback would come.
In this conversation Gary doesn’t shy away from difficult questions. We cover these and many more:
- Is betting in swimming inevitable?
- Can a sports data company exist separately from sportsbooks?
- How do governing bodies, athletes, coaches, and parents protect the integrity of the sport?
- And if betting markets are coming to Olympic sports regardless, should swimming have a voice in shaping how they are built?
Gary’s very clear in this conversation that Anchor Line Sports is not a sportsbook, but rather a sports data company designed to provide regulated data, analytics, integrity monitoring, and market infrastructure to licensed operators. His bigger vision is to use sports betting as a fan-engagement tool to help Olympic sports attract new audiences while creating new commercial opportunities for federations and rights holders. Gary’s company plans to begin internal beta testing around this summer’s USA Swimming National Championships before expanding to the Pan Pacific Championships and, eventually, additional Olympic sports leading into LA28.
If we missed any questions, drop them in the comments.
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Many thanks to Swimoutlet.com for their 15 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
