Before the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was repealed in 2018, the PGA had a plan to address sports betting. In 2017, the association instituted PGA Tour Integrity in conjunction with sports technology and data company Genius Sports to “prevent and mitigate betting-related corruption in PGA TOUR competitions,” according to the program’s online manual.
According to PGA Vice President of Gaming Scott Warfield, the association wanted to ensure that a “robust integrity program” existed when sports betting was legalized.
“The proper monitoring and education of a really large stakeholder ecosystem was vital,” Warfield says. “It’s one of those things you can never really be perfect. So every year, we’re trying to add to that.”
The PGA Tour is among many companies promoting the American Gaming Association’s Responsible Gaming Education Month. Last week the association got an early start on RGEM, releasing a promotional video emphasizing the AGA’s tenet, “sports betting starts with a game plan.”
The PGA also was one of the first professional leagues to embrace the AGA’s “Have a Game Plan. Bet Responsibly Campaign.”
“The PGA TOUR has prioritized responsible gaming from the beginning as demonstrated by their commitment to the Have A Game Plan campaign,” said AGA Vice President, Strategic Communications & Responsibility Cait DeBaun via email. “We’re looking forward to seeing their new PSA and digital campaign activated throughout Responsible Gaming Education Month.”
Because golf has a comfortable pace of play and built-in opportunities for wagering, including hole-by-hole betting, it provides many opportunities for in-play bets. But those opportunities can potentially lead to problems if not addressed.
Warfield says the U.S. lags behind other markets regarding in-play betting, “but we all understand where it’s going. Baseball and golf lend themselves best to in-play-betting because of the amount of content, how many days of content, and the pace of play — all of that lends itself to being a really interesting and unique in-play product.
“That’s one of the reasons we have tried, as best we can, to be one of the leaders on the responsible gaming side, in addition to it just being the right thing to do.”
The PGA Tour, like other professional leagues, has forged partnerships with sports betting operators to take advantage of sponsorship deals and promotions. The association has deals with BetMGM, bet365, betParx, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Points Bet.
With sports betting live and legal in 30 states plus the District of Columbia and legal but not operational in 6 additional states, Warfield says striking partnerships was vital to the tour’s interests.
“We’re not a gaming company; we put on world-class golf events,” he says. “So having the right partners is critical for us.”
Last year PGA Tour players, caddies and tour officials took part in a 45-minute webinar about responsible gaming and were quizzed at the end. Because the sports betting landscape is constantly evolving, there’s a priority on continual education and outreach to employees.
“We want to ensure we’re front and center sharing information,” Warfield says. “Sending them key messaging as part of this responsible gaming initiative that we’re doing. It’s one of those projects you never cross off as done, but we try to take it one day at a time and message accordingly. We think we can make a difference.”
