NEW YORK: The PGA Tour Monday announced that IMG Arena, IMG’s leading sports betting service and content hub, will distribute official PGA Tour scoring data for media usage and sports betting purposes. Under a significant multi-year agreement, IMG Arena will distribute official PGA Tour data to sports media companies, news services and other media organisations worldwide.
Further, IMG Arena will have the exclusive rights to distribute official data and selected live video of PGA Tour competitions to international regulated sports betting and gaming markets. The PGA Tour’s official data is collected through its proprietary ShotLink system powered by CDW, the official technology partner of PGA.
With an elaborate network of walking scorers, lasers and greenside cameras, ShotLink collects and distributes a rich set of data points from each shot in PGA Tour competition in real time. Utilising the ShotLink data, IMG Arena is developing a range of innovative golf products that will provide PGA Tour fans with new and exciting ways to enjoy the sport.
The PGA Tour’s relationship with IMG Arena will support the its Integrity Program, which was implemented earlier this year to protect the sport from betting-related corruption. IMG Arena will also be responsible for providing the highest standard of security and data protection and ensuring proper controls to prevent the unauthorised use of information by outlets licensing PGA Tour data.
“This is a very important step for the PGA Tour in terms of engaging our fans, serving our players and enhancing our Integrity Program,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said.
“Creating a bigger, more diverse, more engaged fan base around the world is key to any league’s success, and sports betting is part of how we plan to do that.”
“The global sports betting market’s access to official data has revolutionised the in-play sports betting experience,” IMG Arena MD Freddie Longe said.
“We see golf as a sleeping giant. It is one of few major sports that doesn’t yet offer consistent in-play betting markets. The PGA Tour is an undisputed leader in golf and we feel this long-term partnership will allow us to work hand in hand to grow the game and protect the sport via the launch of a truly innovative digital experience that captures the next generation of sports betting and entertainment.”
IMG Arena processes official data for more than 45,000 sporting events per year. In 2017, the business delivered more than 70 million hours of content and 39 million unique views.
