The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour has welcomed a new player to the team, granting IMG Arena official sports betting data and live streaming distribution rights.
With any luck, this partnership could be the much-needed catalyst for enhanced LPGA wagering options in both the US and around the globe.
LPGA Tour partners with IMG Arena
As a leading sports betting service provider and content hub, IMG Arena looks to ultimately improve — and perhaps even revolutionize — the way golf fans access and interact with data-driven content.
To do this, the brand will utilize its exclusive Golf Event Centre platform to provide real-time shot-by-shot data as LPGA events take place. Live streaming and interactive course visualizations will also be available thanks to the new partnership.
Brian Carroll, the LPGA’s senior vice president of global media distribution, sees the exchange as a long-awaited step in the right direction:
“IMG Arena is the undoubted leader in producing golf sports betting content, through its game-changing Event Centre. With the full LPGA Tour covered, this is a significant commercial partnership that helps grow the game with thrilling content reaching new audiences and driving fan engagement around the world.”
These features are expected to go live as soon as the 2022 LPGA Tour schedule begins. The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, beginning Thursday, Jan. 20, is the first event on the calendar.
Betting on the LPGA Tour
The LPGA Tour offers over 30 tournaments for players to participate in annually — five of which are major championships. These events range in location across four continents:
- North America
- Europe
- Asia
- Australia
Locating lines for such LPGA Tour events, though, has traditionally been hit or miss. Bettors can sometimes find select odds listed at a handful of sportsbooks, but lines are often nonexistent.
For instance, you’d be hard-pressed to find LPGA futures odds of any kind at a sportsbook right now.
Even when they’re available, there’s no guarantee as to the variety of options or how long they’ll actually be live. Luckily, this new partnership could open doors for more LPGA Tour betting in the US than ever before.
Max Wright, IMG Arena’s senior vice president of commercial affairs, is eager for the newfound potential the venture imparts on the sport:
“We are delighted to partner with the LPGA and boost the Golf Event Centre with another elite sports competition. Bringing women’s golf to the Event Centre has long been an ambition of IMG Arena. The LPGA Tour features some of the most talented athletes in the world and weekly tournaments of the finest quality, which will deliver a vast and compelling range of data-led sports betting content for operators and their players.”
About IMG Arena
Although the IMG Arena name might not be as familiar to Americans, it has a far larger presence across the pond. The brand is based in London, England and works with a variety of clients around the globe including:
- Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
- European Tour
- PGA Tour
- EuroLeague
- Major League Soccer (MLS)
- English Football Association (FA)
Additionally, IMG Arena provides more than 470 sportsbooks with live video streams and data feeds from well over 45,000 sporting events every year.
Initial partners and future potential
The three initial sportsbooks to feature this enhanced data alongside their LPGA lines are:
- bet365
- BoyleSports
- Tipsports
Neither Boylesports nor Tipsports are not currently live in the US. However, New Jersey residents can soon rely on bet365 for extensive LPGA Tour wagering.
Additional sportsbooks may also integrate the program in the near future — a promising sign of what’s to come for LPGA betting in the states.
