Commish Hints At PGA Tour Gaming "Participation" Announcement By Year's End

As legalized sports betting has so far fizzled after the initial euphoria, the PGA Tour is forging ahead with integrity programs, beefed up stats and partners in various arenas. And now PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has hinted that an announcement will come by year’s end that could have the PGA Tour taking the vig.

Golfweek’s Dan Kilbridge reports and includes this quote:

“We’ve spent a lot of time over the last two and a half years clearly understanding all of our options and getting ourselves in a position where we can participate,” Monahan said. “Participate with the right partners, and participate in a way that we think resonates with fans. Without getting in front of it, I think you can expect to hear developments from us in the second half of this year.”

It’s an amazing leap from the days of Tim Finchem getting creeped out by the Tour’s association with fantasy leagues and certainly one worth trying. Though after The Match last year where stats were part of theoretical play-along gambling, I’m still struggling to see if live in-round betting will really click given the general lack of prop bet imagination shown by the gaming industry.

In theory the slow speed of golf should lend the sport to some of this gambling, but fantasy leagues and week-to-week pools should remain a focus given the communal nature of those and the more benign notion of picking players based on track records at courses or recent form.

It sounds like that is the case:

Monahan is continually trying to get ahead of the issue to ensure the Tour is in position to maximize the benefits.

“There’s so many different points of entry, from operators to daily fantasy to just games within broadcasts that are non-betting games, just to the way you orient yourself understanding the way people are consuming information,” Monahan said.