Golf betting has been consolidated following the Tuesday announcement that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreed to a merger.
unify the game of golf, on a global basis”
The Saudi-backed LIV tour launched in 2022 as an alternative to the traditional main circuit for professional golfers and offered eye-watering contracts for exclusivity. All of that chaos and controversy came to be for nothing as the two agreed to join to “unify the game of golf, on a global basis,” per a PGA Tour statement.
Players that signed deals with each tour will be allowed to apply for reinstatement into the other with no punishment. The Saudi Public Investment Fund will also contribute a “capital investment” to the new formation.
The biggest winners from the announcement are golf fans and bettors. The split meant that many of the world’s best and most popular golfers weren’t at certain events because of contractual stipulations. Certain athletes also never crossed paths with others, again, because of the deals in place.
According to information published in 2022, betting on the PGA Tour was seven times higher than the LIV Tour.
Scott Warfield, the PGA Tour’s VP of Gaming, said last year the future for gambling on golf was bright.
“A 2025 goal? I would like to believe we can be one of the top four or five bet-on sports if we do it right.”
Sportsbooks also reported $4-5bn in golf wagers in 2021 alone, roughly 8.5% of the year’s sports betting revenue total. That figures to be on the rise now that the best golfers are back under the same umbrella.
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