DraftKings Inks Fantasy Sports Deal with PGA Tour

DraftKings Daily Fantasy has become the PGA Tour’s first-ever official fantasy sports partner. The American professional golf circuit has been moving away from its traditional opposition to sports betting in recent times, culminating in this week’s multi-year marketing partnership with one of the country’s larger sports betting providers.

The deal is specific to daily fantasy rather than sports betting, but even partnering with a company involved in sports betting would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago for the PGA Tour.

In a statement, PGA Tour Senior VP for Media Luis Goicouria said this:

“We are excited to partner with DraftKings, an industry leader in innovation and fan engagement, in this groundbreaking step for the PGA Tour. The partnership with DraftKings provides the tour with a unique opportunity to innovate in a new industry and to further engage our fans.”

What the PGA-DraftKings Deal Includes

• DraftKings will rebrand its popular daily fantasy golf competitions as PGA Tour DraftKings Fantasy Golf.
• DraftKings subscribers will be given access to real-time video highlights as part of the DraftKings content offerings.
• Collaboration on several real-time product enhancements to ShotLink, the PGA Tour’s advanced scoring and data platform.
• The deal involves brand integration across the DraftKings and PGA Tour platforms.

PGA Starts Shift from Sports Betting Opposition

The PGA Tour, long-time organizer of the main professional golf tours in the United States and North America, has historically been a staunch opponent to the expansion of sports betting across the nation. As was the case with many professional sports leagues, however, the PGA very soon has come to accept and even embrace legal golf betting.

Even before the Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting prohibition of sports betting, PGA Tour officials could see the writing on the wall. A month before the Supreme Court issued its decision, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan came out in support of legalization.

The PGA’s first move shortly after the landmark court case was to sign a deal with IMG Arena to become the official data distributor for “media usage and sports betting purposes.”

In February this year, the PGA Tour cozied up closer to the US sports betting industry by revising its rules regarding player sponsorships with gambling companies and DFS operators. In a sign of the Tour’s continued reticence toward a full-on embrace of sports betting, the revised sponsorship rules still include a condition barring players from forming partnerships with companies whose “primary purpose is sports betting.”

Positive Public Sentiment

Andy Levinson, Senior VP of Tournament Administration, noted that ever since the Supreme Court’s decision in May last year, the PGA has been publicly engaged with its fans regarding sports betting. He said PGA officials have been traveling across the United States, discussing the issue with state officials and other lawmakers.

“The public sentiment has generally been positive,” said Levinson. “The benefits of these relationships are tremendous, not the least of which is, from an integrity perspective and having the ability to work with organizations, we’ll gain some insight on what’s going on, from that perspective, in our sport. Fan engagement is also a key and the ability to reach people who might not otherwise follow our sport.”

The Growing Popularity of Golf Betting

Golf is one of the fastest growing sports to attract betting interest, both in terms of daily fantasy and traditional sports wagering.

DraftKings reports that golf continues to grow in popularity among DFS players across the world, and is now the fourth-largest sport in terms of engagement out of the group’s 15 total sports offerings. Here’s DraftKings Chief Business Officer Ezra Kucharz on the deal:

“Golf continues to grow in popularity among DFS players globally and at DraftKings is our fourth-largest sport in terms of engagement, out of 15 total offerings. Our partnership with the PGA Tour signals a mutual commitment to excellence in customer experience along with a new era in golf fandom and engagement.”