Place Your Bets: Troon Partners With PointsBet To Offer Golf Wagering Opportunities
OTHER THAN CLAPPING your hands or cheering for a good shot, watching golf on TV or in person is largely a passive activity. Now there’s a chance for a bit more action.
PointsBet, which offers a scalable cloud-based wagering platform with innovative sports and racing wagering products, has been named the official and exclusive sports betting partner of Troon. It also partners with NBC Sports, Golf Channel, and the PGA Tour. After launching in the United States in January 2019, PointsBet is currently live in 10 different states: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (anyone can explore the app, but to use it you must live in one of those states).
“PointsBet is a leader in the online gaming space with innovative technology that helps drive the consumer experience,” said Scott Van Newkirk, chief development officer, Troon. “We know many members and guests who enjoy our Troon-managed facilities are passionate about sports and gaming. We’re excited to see our partnership with PointsBet grow as gaming opportunities increase across the country.”
PointsBet will have the opportunity to conduct brand visibility actions at participating Troon-managed facilities, including exclusive odds integrations, and will be unveiling golf-centric collaborations that will reward PointsBet users with golf opportunities at Troon locations throughout the country. PointsBet VIP customers will also be able to access hospitality and events at Troon-managed facilities, including at a soon-to-be-announced PointsBet Cup to be held this year in the U.S.
“We view that event, at least in year one, as an opportunity to collaborate and bring our most premium players from a VIP perspective from around the country together and have what we will call a ‘money-can’t-buy experience,’” said Ryan Pensy, senior director of business development, PointsBet. “And those consumers will then go back and tell their friends and playing partners what a special, cool experience it was. Whether that meant they got to play potentially with one of our PointsBet ambassadors (such as Notah Begay or Paige Spiranac), or just to have that fellowship and camaraderie with other folks who love the game of golf, who are avid sports bettors, and who want to experience a Troon property at its peak.
We know many members and guests who enjoy our Troon managed facilities are passionate about sports and gaming.
Few sports offer such a wide range of betting opportunities as PGA Tour golf, according to Pensy. “That can be everything from who you think will win the event, top finishers, and what we call matchups with two or three golfers going head-to-head over the course of a round,” he said. “And then all the way down to unique things, like closest shot on the par-3 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona. Ultimately, within the next year, I think this will get down to where you can bet shot by shot. Justin Thomas could step to the tee and you’ll be able to bet if his drive will find the fairway, the rough, the water, and will he make a birdie, par, or bogey on the hole? The opportunities are great in golf in terms of the volume of bets that could take place.”
PointsBet separates itself from competitors by investing more on in-play betting, something Pensy says represents a big shift in the business. “Right now, sports betting is just becoming legalized in a lot of states in the U.S.,” he said. “People may still think about it as they have in the past where sports betting was walking up to a window in Las Vegas, placing your bet, getting a paper ticket, and sitting down. In more mature markets like Europe, Asia, and Australia, it is much more common from an in-play perspective. We see this market shifting in that direction, especially as we reach market maturity, where 75-80 percent or more of bets will actually take place when an event is live. That is what we’re catering to.”
Another unique feature of the platform is called “Name A Bet.” If you see a betting market not currently available on the app, you can text or email the PointsBet team and potentially get that opportunity on the app.
Pensy gives the PGA Tour credit for being progressive in terms of what it’s trying to do as golf continues to lean into sports betting. “It will help to bring in a different, varied audience to the sport as this continues to increase,” he said. “You’re going to see fans who are potentially used to betting on football, basketball, or other sports, now see the volume of bets available across golf and really making it so that they are much more engaged.”
