The U.S. sports betting gold rush is over. Shortly after the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, organizations couldn’t integrate igaming and sports betting into broadcasts, websites, apps, and content fast enough as a way to further engage current fans while appealing to new and casual ones.
Yet much like any golf shot, the PGA TOUR relied on a meticulous approach to betting, waiting until July 2020 to announce its first official betting partner.
Four years later, the focus is as much about auditing the existing opportunity as it is looking ahead to the future of betting in golf.
“Phase 1 of sports betting in the United States, I think, is over,” said Scott Warfield, PGA TOUR Vice President of Gaming. “Now it’s, what does Phase 2 look like and how do we reorient?
“It’s definitely a look-in-the-mirror moment to say, ‘OK, we’ve learned a ton. We have a lot of good trends and data showing there’s something here. Now, how do we market it better? How do we continue to protect the game?’ None of those pieces are coming off the playbook, we’re just making tweaks to them and hopefully fine-tuning it for the next 3-5 years.”
While other major sports leagues across North America had a significant existing, albeit illegal, betting culture in place prior to the repeal of PASPA, the PGA TOUR had to brainstorm ways to engage fans beyond outright betting opportunities placed before the start of a tournament. With more than 140 participants during a given event every week, not only were the chances of hitting a bet quite slim, but the bet-it-and-forget-it activity that existed didn’t maintain engagement throughout an entire tournament, especially if their golfer was out of contention come Sunday, or, even worse, cut after Friday.
Introducing its first electronic scoreboard system in 1983 that would lay the foundation for today’s ShotLink, the PGA TOUR had three-plus decades of data collection under its belt in preparation for the PASPA appeal. After some tweaks and upgrades coupled with naming IMG Arena its Official Data Distributor for media and betting purposes in September 2019, the PGA TOUR was off to the races the following year.
Currently working with six betting operators—DraftKings, BetMGM, PointsBet, FanDuel, betPARX, and Bet365—the PGA Tour offers fans a seemingly endless opportunity to engage with the sport through betting including outright winner, first-round leader, head-to-head, closest to the pin, longest drive, and more.
“Sports betting engages fans on a deeper level compared to the general consumer,” said John Sheeran, Strategic Partnerships Senior Director at FanDuel. “For golf specifically, our product offers consumers the opportunity to make every swing of the club matter more, regardless of the round number or leaderboard position of their favorite player.
“With an always-on approach, FanDuel offers extensive wagering opportunities and ensures customers can be part of the critical moments of sporting events, especially on a Sunday afternoon as the final round builds to a crescendo.”
The proof is in the data. Warfield estimates that nearly 80% of golf bets prior to the repeal of PASPA were outright (picking a pre-tournament winner), while today it’s nearly 50%. According to the Tour, approximately 55% of all bets are made live, up from approximately 45% in 2022.
Despite the fractured state of pro golf following the launch of LIV Golf in 2022, sports betting is driving engagement and interest in the PGA TOUR. Not only has Golfbet, the Tour’s betting hub, seen an increase of 17,000 followers in 2024 and +800% engagements, but the estimated total PGA TOUR handle is up approximately 20% year-over-year.
Following the launch of legal online sports betting in North Carolina on March 11, the state has accounted for roughly 8% of all money bet on the PGA TOUR handle and is currently a top-3 state for total number of PGA TOUR bets placed and total number of users.
“It’s such a natural part of our sport,” Warfield said. “It’s so ingrained in what this sport is that it’s now more about educating the core fan and casuals so that some of the same principles of playing can carry over to the viewing experience.
“That’s a built-in advantage that we just need to do a better job capitalizing on.”
The PGA TOUR certainly has had plenty of learnings since getting into the betting space in late 2020. After initially outsourcing betting content through Action Network, the Tour brought everything in-house so it can drive the narrative and can amplify through its main social media handles.
The PGA TOUR has also made responsible gaming a priority, working in conjunction with the American Gaming Association and National Council for Problem Gambling; the Tour also joined the Coalition for Responsible Sports Betting Advertising in February. Working with U.S. Integrity and Genius Sports to monitor every single golf bet across all of its tournaments, the Tour is being proactive with ensuring the integrity of the game while other leagues have seen issues arise.
With sports betting live and legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C., and active legislation in Missouri and Oklahoma, you can bet the industry continues to grow.
“Especially for folks like me who are in it every day, it feels like it’s been forever but when you pull back and look at it, we’re on the second or third hole and really positioning ourselves for what this will be in 2030, 2040 because that’s kind of the build we look at this space through,” Warfield said. “ … I think it’s a bit of an inflection point for the industry to build on what we’ve created, but also make changes for things that may not be working.”