The PGA Championship is the first of golfβs four majors to announce a sports betting partnership with a sportsbook operator.
The PGA of America and Penn Entertainment, the latter being the parent company to Penn Interactive and ESPN Bet, on Tuesday announced a sports betting partnership for the second golf major of the year. The PGA Championship is set for May 16-19 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
ESPN Bet will serve the PGA of America as its βOfficial Sports Betting Sponsorβ for its marquee event. ESPN Bet will have a significant presence at the esteemed Kentucky course next week, as well as during ESPNβs television coverage of the major championship.
ESPN Bet customers who are attending the PGA in person will gain access to the ESPN Bet Members Lounge located adjacent to the 13th hole. The exclusive area will offer a premium hospitality experience with covered seating featuring views of the newly renovated par-4 13th green, beverage service, special ESPN Bet offers, and a VR simulator of the 13th hole.
Three-Year DealΒ
ESPN Bet will retain the βOfficial Sports Betting Sponsorβ title to the PGA Championship through the 2026 tournament.
The championship is to be played at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte next year and at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia in 2026. North Carolina and Pennsylvania are both legal sports betting states. ESPN Bet is licensed in both.
ESPN is licensed in Kentucky through its retail partnership with Ellis Park. The book is licensed in North Carolina through a partnership with the PGA Tour and Quail Hollow. ESPN Bet is licensed in Pennsylvania where Penn operates several Hollywood-branded brick-and-mortar casinos.
With the PGA Championship set to take place in states where ESPN BET operates through 2026, this partnership provides us with a great opportunity to interact with and engage golf fans,β said Jason Birney, vice president of operations at Penn Interactive. βWe look forward to accessing highly engaging touchpoints to bring ESPN Bet onto the course and into the PGA Championship broadcast on ESPN.β
CBS has the broadcast rights to Saturday and Sundayβs afternoon and evening coverage, but ESPN will air Thursday and Fridayβs morning broadcast and pre-CBS coverage on the weekends until 1 pm ET.
Terms of the PGA of America deal werenβt disclosed but Penn Entertainment continues to spend heavily on its ESPN Bet marketing initiatives. ESPN Bet is the Pennsylvania-based casino operatorβs revamped sports betting product that it secured last year through a $1.5 billion deal with Walt Disneyβs ESPN to leverage the sports programming brand.
Penn pivoted to ESPN Bet after folding on its Barstool Sports ownership, a bad business deal that cost the company more than $500 million.
PGA Odds
When the PGA Championship tees off next week, all eyes will be on world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the most dominant player in the sport today. Scheffler, who remains on baby watch with his wife Meredith, is skipping this weekβs Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow.
If he plays, Scheffler will no doubt be the PGA betting favorite. The 2024 Masters winner is currently at +350 to win the Wanamaker Trophy.
Rory McIlroy is next at +1200. Jon Rahm is at +1400. Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, and Ludvig Aberg are next at +1600.
