LONDON: IMG ARENA, a leading sports betting service and content hub, has acquired the sports betting distribution rights to its first golf major, the PGA Championship, through the championship’s organiser and rights holder, the PGA of America.
The collaboration between IMG ARENA, the PGA of America and the PGA Tour begins with the 2021 PGA Championship, contested May 17-23 at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Charleston, South Carolina.
As part of its offering IMG ARENA will distribute data and live streaming of two par-3 holes (based on market availability), via its Golf Event Centre. The revolutionary, front-end sports betting solution is an industry-first product, created in association with the world’s leading golf tours to enable interactive in-play betting on the sport.
The Golf Event Centre is the only place to find a comprehensive range of real-time, shot by shot data and markets, as well as live streaming and interactive course visualisations.
Data from the PGA Championship will be collected by ShotLink powered by CDW, the PGA Tour’s proprietary scoring system, which utilises an elaborate network of walking scorers, lasers and greenside cameras.
Max Wright, SVP Commercial of IMG ARENA, said: “Golf majors are among the most prestigious events across all sports, so we are very excited to secure this partnership with the PGA of America.
“The PGA Championship has a reputation for producing dramatic and thrilling moments, making it a perfect addition to the Golf Event Centre for sports bettors to enjoy through our global operator partners.”
Featuring the strongest field in the game, based on the Official World Golf Rankings, the PGA Championship is the second of golf’s four annual majors. Winners of the famous Wanamaker Trophy include Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
