PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan over the weekend addressed how the Tour has been has been "preparing for widespread, legalized sports betting for years," according to Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Monahan in his annual roundtable at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions said, "The reason we would do it is because we think gaming leads to more engagement.” Monahan said that he expects sports betting in golf to be a “'second-, third- or fourth-screen experience,' meaning fans would follow any potential bets as well as the traditional tournament broadcast" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 1/5). MORNINGREAD.com's Alex Miceli notes gambling is "not going to be a tremendous money maker for the PGA Tour," but it "could enhance the brand and viewership." The Tour "still has issues to iron out, including its support of draft legislation that would provide federal oversight of sports gambling, and potentially rewriting PGA Tour Integrity Program guidelines that prohibit players and virtually everybody associated with tournaments from betting at tournament sites." Monahan: "Ultimately so much of how we consume is through our phone or mobile devices, so at some point in time, given our fans have their phones on property and when it becomes legalized ... then you're going to see it happening in real time. Does it make sense in some instances where there would be a place you would go to place a bet or wager? Potentially. But we're not just far enough along in our conversations on that front to say that I see it" (MORNINGREAD.com, 1/7).
THEIR PIECE OF THE PIE: Golf Channel’s Matt Adams said the Tour wants to “get their piece of the pie, but the way they’re doing it is through accountability and in what they call integrity, ensuring the numbers that are used are legitimate." Adams added the Tour "wants there to be federal oversight on sports betting," as that will "limit the number of players that are behind the scenes and setting all this up, and makes it a lot easier for them to make the deals.” Golf Channel’s Brian Bateman asked, “How is it not going to bring more people to the game? It doesn't have to be a big wager. ... It could be someone simple as a golfer sitting next to a non-golfer or a friend and say, ‘Let's take Jordan against Rickie today heads up.’ My friend might say he doesn’t know who Rickie Fowler is, and that might expose him to the game and get him more engaged. ... It sounds like a good thing” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 1/6).
