The PGA Tour has launched a new golf-focused sports betting content platform through a new strategic partnership with US sports media company The Action Network.
The deal will see the PGA Tour provide GolfBet content across its digital platforms, as well as footage rights to support GolfBet video content and official PGA Tour data for sports betting and daily fantasy sports.
“We believe that golf fans and sports bettors alike are in search of a deeper level of information that has not existed until the launch of GolfBet,” said PGA Tour senior vice president of media and gaming Norb Gambuzza. “The Action Network is the perfect partner to create this type of content platform to educate and entertain fans about responsible betting on golf while bolstering the overall gaming ecosystem.
“We are bullish that GolfBet content and the growth of sports betting will drive fan engagement and expand our overall audience.”
The Action Network CEO Patrick Keane commented: “The PGA Tour is one of the most forward-thinking leagues and rightsholders around the massive growing legal sports betting business.
“Our consumers are passionate golf fans, and we are excited about the opportunity to enhance our coverage via the launch of the GolfBet platform.”
The launch is the latest move by the PGA Tour to expand into the sports betting space after signing an integrity deal with Genius Sports, a live scoring data partnership with IMG Arena, and re-launching its PGA Tour DraftKings Fantasy Golf offering last year.
“In a typical PGA TOUR season, there are approximately 1.m golf shots taken across our schedule,” explained Gambuzza. “This represents a massive opportunity for in-play betting, new types of markets for operators who have access to official PGA Tour data, and tremendous opportunities for content generation.
“We think that The Action Network has the unique expertise to develop a diverse array of tools, analysis, and other content which will help fans and bettors understand, access, and enjoy these new betting opportunities as the market evolves.”
In addition to weekly content provided by The Action Network with well-known experts including Jason Sobel, Josh Perry and Peter Jennings, GolfBet will also strike partnerships with other media companies to power the platform.
“Golf was one of the few major sports that had not yet offered consistent in-play betting markets,” said IMG Arena senior vice president Max Wright. “We see a massive opportunity for growth through ‘in-play’ betting once our official PGA Tour betting data hits the market later this year.
“This partnership between PGA Tour and The Action Network is hugely complementary. We believe that an information hub like GolfBet which delivers high quality content to help to inform and educate users about golf and golf betting will be a net positive for the growing golf betting market.”