Last updated on July 11th, 2019 at 03:03 am
The Professional Golf Association, or the PGA, is going through a lot of exciting changes this year. First off, the PGA Championship will now be in May. The Players Championship will be in March, and will have a new format. The new format will allow them to announce the FedEx Cup Champion while at the Tour Championship. The goal of these modifications is to boost audience ratings and entertainment value. Of course, sports betting could also be part of the picture here.
PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan has recently talked with the media in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. On the topic of sports betting and the PGA, he says that the PGA will provide support to federal legislation that will eventually allow the government to oversee sports betting.
Sports Betting for Golf and Other Sports
The federal bill mentioned is the bill that was introduced late last year by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. This legislation, if it passes, will give the government the means to regulate the sports betting industry’s actions in the US. The market for sports betting in US is estimated in the millions. In fact, there is a lot of interest in sports betting software around the world, US included.
PGA Commissioner Mohan says that “Where we are from a gaming standpoint, I’ll break it down to two points. We have for the last couple of years put all the systems in place from an integrity program to monitoring program to our ShotLink technology in place so we can be in a position to participate.” It could also bring in more engagement, he adds. In addition, fans can be able to follow the bets plus the original broadcast. And golf is really no stranger to wagers. Last November’s The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had wagers placed by the golfers themselves. Both Phil and Tiger had challenged each other to wagers prior to the game, as well as during their game. The wagers between the two players caught the interest of Monahan, as he had taken note of the wagers between the two.
