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When you think of the sports with the most upside from a sports betting perspective, one could argue for NFL Football; in Super Bowl LVII alone, the American Gaming Association reported an estimated $16 Billion in waged bets. Likewise, a case could be made for the men’s March Madness tournament; the American Gaming Association predicted $3.1 billion would be wagered in last year’s tournament.
Nonetheless, professional golf is a sport that is statistically in the $4 to $5 billion handle range, according to Golf DataTech’s recent study. Essentially a handle is the amount of money in wagers that are accepted. Though that $4-$5 billion handle represents only 8% of the sports betting handles within the U.S., notable sportsbooks are bullish on the financial progression of golf.
“We always treated golf like NASCAR or auto racing—somewhat ancillary sports,” says Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk management and an oddsmaker at Las Vegas-based Superbook USA. “Lately, golf has accelerated past NASCAR. It’ll never touch betting interest in major sports, college football, or basketball, but it’s right behind it. People love to bet a little to win a lot, and that’s exactly what golf offers with so many different golfers, often at high odds.”
In 2021, the global sports betting market was valued at over 80 billion dollars. The U.S. is responsible for 60% of that share. By 2026 the revenue from global sports betting is expected to increase to over $110 billion. 8% of that revenue will be generated will be through golf betting.
There are many intricacies involved in betting on golf matches. First, you have the winner market, the most popular bet on golf, which is a bet on who will win a particular event outright. In addition, one could go the two-ball or three-ball route, where you can wager which players will score the least in a specific round. Further, sports media platforms have created BetCasts which are different from a television network airing match and instead provides Live odd changes, match-up tracking, and other graphics to keep the viewer engaged in what’s happening on the betting side.
“According to John Krzynowek, co-founder of Golf Datatech, “Betting on professional golf provides some degree of comfort to the gambler. They know Tour players are performing every week for a paycheck versus a professional athlete with a guaranteed contract who can have an off day and still get paid or choose not to play. A golfer’s professional life depends upon performance, making it far less likely for anyone to question the result of any tournament.”
Furthermore, when it comes to betting on golf, it is hard to ignore the community aspect of it. 10% of golfers regularly bet on the pro game, and an additional 14% do so during a major. As we build up to the Masters, look no further than RunYourPool as the go-to platform to help you manage your pools and stay connected with other like-minded golf enthusiasts.
