The PGA TOUR and DraftKings announced an expansion to their existing partnership Wednesday which will include market access for retail and mobile sports betting in Arizona, pending regulatory approvals, including plans to operate a sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale, annual home to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
GolfBet has learned that three on-site locations at the venue are being considered as options for a permanent facility, believed to be the first of its kind in the golf industry.
“We know that were going to have a beautiful structure there,” said Norb Gambuzza, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of media business development. “There will be high demand from fans to get in there during tournament week. How we get there from where we are now, we have some work to do. But we want to make it a cool part of the fan experience.”
This announcement comes on the heels of Arizona legislature passing HB 227, which would authorize sports betting and daily fantasy sports in the state.
Still in the early development stages, there is no official date for when the retail sportsbook would open, though Gambuzza did allow that there is a target – the 2023 Super Bowl, which will be held in Phoenix and often coincides with the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
“We’ve planted a flag in the ground that our joint and shared goal is that this is fully operation and in all its glory by that date,” he said.
The sportsbook is expected to serve as a “19th hole” experience, giving bettors an opportunity to place wagers year-round, while also offering food and beverage options.
The mobile part of this deal is expected to be up and running as soon as Arizona legislature passes the bill into law, potentially as early as this summer.
This is the third marketing partnership between the PGA TOUR and DraftKings, which already had an existing commercial relationship as a DFS provider and official betting operator.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open annually draws the largest attendance figures of any golf tournament, with a record 719,179 spectators announced for the entire week in 2018.
Asked whether the PGA TOUR would consider similar projects in other states, Gambuzza said any considerations would happen on a case-by-case basis.
“We’re going to look – every state is not the same, the legislation is apples and oranges from state to state,” he said. “It made all the sense in the world to pursue this in Arizona, but if this winds up happening in say, Texas, where we have legislation and tournaments, it may be something we pursue or it may not be.”
