First there was the announcement Tuesday that Brooks Koepka is the latest pro golfer to leave the PGA Tour for the trough of cash being offered by the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Tour. So much for comments last week where he appeared to talk it down.
The PGA Tour could use some good news, then, and Tuesday morning it got some — a three-year content and marketing agreement until 2024 naming Bet365 Sportsbook as an Official Betting Operator of the PGA Tour in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, as well as Canada.
With Ontario sports betting thriving, it’s a good partnership for both.
In the UK, Ireland and Australia, bet365 will serve as the exclusive source for odds on the leaderboard and player pages on pgatour.com and on TourCast, the platform that allows fans to follow every shot from each group with a 3D rendering of the golf course, according to a news release.
Big Bet365 Presence
Look for bet365 brand presence across PGA Tour media properties including on international market inventory on the PGA’s website, and on platforms like Golfdigest.com in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada.
“We are excited to work with bet365 to expand the Tour’s sports betting initiatives outside of North America,” said Scott Warfield, vice president of gaming at the PGA Tour, in a statement. “Bet365 was the first operator to integrate the Tour’s official in-play betting product and they are poised for tremendous growth being on the forefront of in-play sports betting in golf.
“The Tour continues to look for opportunities to innovate in new areas with a goal of engaging with fans.”
More About the Deal
Bet365 will integrate its IMG Arena Golf Event Center product, a front-end sports betting solution enabling interactive in-play betting on the sport.
Said a spokesperson for bet365: “The bet365 group is delighted to be working with one of the most iconic brands in global sport. Throughout this partnership with PGA Tour, bet365 will strive to continue delivering a market leading in-play experience to our golf customers, both across our global sites and the PGA Tour platforms.”
The PGA Tour co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica and PGA Tour Canada.
There are currently 28 active iGaming sites in Ontario. Bet365 was a grey market book in the province and was one of the first to get licensed. The market went live on April 4.
NBA Futures Market Settled
PROLINE reports that with the Golden State Warriors’ win, they settled the NBA Championship futures market. On March 18, a customer wagered $500 on Golden State for a $3,500 payout. And on May 27, a customer wagered $6,900 on Golden State for a payout of nearly $12,000.
Golden State opened the season with the fourth-best odds (13-1) to win the championship behind Brooklyn, the L.A. Lakers and Milwaukee in NBA betting.
Game 2 Between Jays and White Sox
The Jays have been sliding of late, with some injuries and questionable outings by their starting pitching staff. They hope to turn it around Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 of their series in the Windy City.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Jays are favored again (-132). Total is 9. Bettors are 63% on the under despite the high scoring over the past several Jays games. Kevin Gausman (5-6) is on the mound for Toronto.
