ATP Tour Lifts Moratorium On Tournament Betting Sponsors

The ATP Tour’s board of directors lifted its moratorium on tournament sports betting/daily fantasy sponsorships on Thursday, according to Truist Atlanta Open Tournament Director Eddie Gonzalez. 

The tour’s moratorium began in 2018 on the recommendation of the Tennis Integrity Unit, following a spate of match-fixing episodes in the sport. But the TIU -- now known as the Int'l Tennis Integrity Agency -- and the ATP felt sufficient progress had been made to dismiss the ban and allow tournaments to pursue sponsorships with sports betting and/or daily fantasy companies.

The sports betting and daily fantasy categories are open to ATP Tour tournaments at the 250 and 500 levels. For the time being, Masters 1000 events, like the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, can only pursue daily fantasy partnerships.

Gonzalez told SBJ that the seven American ATP tournaments at the 250 and 500 level (N.Y., Delray Beach, DC, Newport, Winston-Salem, Houston and Atlanta) have bundled their rights together and will pursue sponsors in the category as a single unit, offering exclusivity. Gonzalez found success partnering with DraftKings last summer for an exhibition in Atlanta that was used as a case study to show the tour’s board how betting partnerships could benefit the sport, while maintaining competitive integrity.

New revenue streams will be crucial for pro tennis as it tries to recover from the pandemic. Only two of the seven tournaments pooling their sports betting sponsorship rights were able to hold their 2020 events.

"We’re very appreciative of the support from the board," said Gonzalez. "This has happened under Andrea (Gaudenzi) coming in as our new chairman in a very difficult year, so we appreciate that. This is a great move for ATP Tour events to the able to secure revenue in a new category."

There are a few caveats, according to Gonzalez. Tournaments cannot pursue title sponsorships or presenting partnerships with companies in the sports betting/daily fantasy category. And tournaments also cannot place on-court signage too close to the chair umpire or players’ benches. Other than that, the category is open.

Gonzalez said the seven American events “feel like the value is at a six-figure-plus per event,” level, which would take any deal into seven figures. Gonzalez said he’s already had positive conversations with several potential partners in the space.