The PGA Tour has taken another step into the sports betting space with the launch of betting content site GolfBet.com.
The Tour has partnered with content creator The Action Network for the project, which went live on Monday.
The domain redirects visitors to The Action Network’s golf page, which itself has been rebranded to “GolfBet presented by the PGA Tour.”
Inside the PGA Tour betting site
Action Network CEO Patrick Keane said the partners would share revenues made from affiliate marketing and advertising.
The deal appears to make the PGA Tour the first US professional organization to profit from sports gambling directly.
The Action Network will also gain access to PGA Tour video and proprietary data to enhance its content. Its writers will also appear on Golf Channel programming to discuss betting.
The deal runs through the 2021 PGA Tour season.
https://twitter.com/JasonSobelTAN/status/1234472502140833793
PGA Tour sees betting content as king
The launch is the Tour’s latest foray into betting after it partnered with IMG Arena on an official data feed. No partners have yet been announced for that feed, although it is expected to launch in three months.
The PGA Tour said a content site would help engage and educate fans ahead of launch.
“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 Norb Gambuzza, PGA Tour’s SVP Media & Gaming.
“We are bullish that GolfBet content and the growth of sports betting will drive fan engagement and expand our overall audience.”
The Tour is still in the process of hiring its first gaming director.
There has been speculation over the domain GolfBet.com since it was acquired in January for $100,000 by a law firm associated with the Tour.
It’s understood that the law firm also tried to buy TourBet.com, but the deal fell through.
Another big partner for The Action Network
The Action Network has a proven track record in the content space following similar deals with NASCAR and the XFL.
This, however, is the first partnership with a dedicated domain and marks another step forward in the growing relationship between US sports organizations and betting.
“We envision GolfBet as a one-stop platform where fans can get all of the most relevant and up-to-date betting information,” The Action Network CEO Patrick Keane said.
GolfBet will also strike partnerships with other media companies to power the platform.
Is this good news for IMG Arena?
IMG Arena hailed the new site as “hugely complementary” to the product it is building.
“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,” said Max Wright, SVP of IMG Arena.
The plan is that GolfBet content will be largely subscription-free for the foreseeable future.
