The PGA TOUR Partners With The Action Network Launch The GolfBet Content Platform
The PGA Tour made more strides into the sports betting space announcing a partnership with The Action Network. The two entities plan to launch GolfBet. GolfBet is a first-of-its-kind betting platform dedicated to golf.
GolfBet will be run by The Action Network and hosted at www.actionnetwork.com/golf. GolfBet data will also be available on The Action Network app.
As part of the strategic partnership, the PGA Tour will provide GolfBet and The Action Network with official TOUR data to ensure fans and bettors have access to the most accurate data and pertinent content available. Additionally, the TOUR will provide GolfBet with various content distributed through the TOUR’s digital platforms and footage rights, allowing GolfBet to produce video content.
The TOUR knows golf fans and sports bettors seek more in-depth information, and such data has not been available until now. The TOUR needed a partner like The Action Network to make this particular type of content platform available to educate and entertain fans all under the guise of expanding the gaming ecosystem.
It is believed that GolfBet content combined with the growth of sports betting will both help to drive fan engagement and thus expand the TOUR’s overall audience.
“The PGA TOUR is one of the most forward-thinking leagues and rightsholders around the massive growing legal sports betting business,” stated Patrick Keane, CEO of The Action Network. “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 PGA TOUR has been extraordinarily active within the sports betting space beginning in 2018 when they announced a partnership with Genius Sports to utilize their integrity program. Later in 2018, the TOUR partnered with IMG ARENA to license its official live scoring data to betting operators around the world. And this past August, the TOUR partnered with DraftKings to relaunch “PGA TOUR DraftKings Fantasy Golf” as a way to differentiate the site as part of the company’s daily fantasy games.
“In a typical PGA TOUR season, there are approximately 1.2 million golf shots taken across our schedule,” stated Norb Gambuzza, PGA TOUR’s SVP Media & Gaming. “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.”
With the addition of GolfBet, the PGA TOUR has produced an ecosystem that supports both sports betting and daily fantasy betting (DraftKings Fantasy Golf). This past year alone, The Action Network produced more than 800 individual pieces of golf content, offered bet tracking and analysis tools focused solely on golf. “Action Network users tracked over 50 million picks on our platform last year, and golf was our fastest-growing segment at nearly 300 percent year over year,” stated Keane.
The hope is GolfBet will give fans one platform that provides the most up to date betting data. It has also been noted that the platform will be subscription free for a sufficient yet indeterminate amount of time. Their focus is to deliver high-quality content to individuals to help educate uses on golf and golf betting and be a positive step to promote the growth of the golf betting market.
