The PGA Tour’s premium featured group coverage of the Wyndham Championship will include live odds betting integration sourced from DraftKings, marking the first time betting content will be integrated into PGA Tour coverage.
DraftKings integrated similar odds-based content during “The Match II” in May.
A number of other major professional sports leagues are also making pushes into the sports betting space. The NBA, MLB and NHL all have official partnerships with sportsbook operators, and although the NFL has yet to partner with an official operator, it gave teams the option to name official sportsbook operators for the 2020 season. In-play betting, specifically, is seen as a massive opportunity in the U.S.
In July, one year after inking a multiyear agreement to make DraftKings its official daily fantasy sponsor, the PGA Tour made the company its official betting operator. At the time, the Tour said the deal was the “first manifestation” of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which made it possible for states to legalize sports betting.
Prior to the morning featured groups’ tee times during rounds one and two each week, the PGA Tour Live host will do a short video call with Jason Sobel or another analyst from “GolfBet,” who will provide insight on the upcoming rounds of the day. In these segments, odds sourced from DraftKings Sportsbook will be shown on screen.
Additionally, the PGA Tour Live production team will begin to incorporate limited odds-based graphics throughout the day, again sourced by DraftKings.
PGA Tour Live is available for free on Twitter for the first 60-90 minutes of each day of action, and in full as a paid product to U.S. subscribers via NBC Sports Gold and Prime Video Channels.
As part of the integrated live odds rollout, all DraftKings Sportsbook and DraftKings DFS users will be offered a free, seven-day trial of PGA Tour Live to watch the Wyndham Championship.