For the first time, a golf course sportsbook in Arizona will be coming to the PGA Tour. TPC Scottsdale will be home to a 12,000-square-foot DraftKings Sportsbook by the fall of 2023.
The idea of a physical sportsbook wasn’t much of an idea in the mind of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan – as far as five years ago. On the hypothetical of having an idea of where he’d have wanted to open one at the time, Monahan said:
“This would have been the location I would have said. We know this will elevate the Peoples’ Open to a new level.
DraftKings estimates the new location will bring 100 to 120 jobs to Scottsdale.
Arizona is among many states where opening a physical sportsbook in an established sports venue is legal. Among the 18 Arizona sports betting apps, you can bet in person at the following venues:
- FanDuel Sportsbook at Footprint Center
- Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field
- BetMGM at State Farm Stadium
Does a golf course sportsbook make sense?
Since sports betting is legal in Arizona, anyone of age can bet using their phone while watching the event or participating in other activities around the venue. Shouldn’t that make the idea of a physical sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale pointless? DraftKings is betting otherwise, believing the sportsbook targets a different type of fan.
DraftKings chief business officer, Ezra Kucharz, had this to say on the company’s confidence in their upcoming sportsbook:
“When you think about the experience of going [into] a venue and everybody’s cheering and watching on screens and you’re betting while watching, it’s an amazing experience. With a company like ours, you can choose to have an experience where you sit on your couch on your phone or you can come to a venue where there’s a lot more people and you can feed off the energy. That’s why we do these things.”
CEO Jason Robins believes DraftKings in Arizona will also appeal to visitors from states where sports betting is not legal, like California. In Arizona, DraftKings is the leading sports betting operator, seeing more than $215 million in bets for September.
Arizona sports betting benefits Scottsdale, PGA
From the DraftKings Sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale, the city and the PGA will receive money from it.
Sports betting alone has done wonders for the PGA and the engagement it sees from its fans. Mohan had this to say on how sports betting is evolving the way people watch golf:
“When you look at legalized sports betting, we’re seeing more engagement [in legal markets]. So when we look at our network broadcasts, our cable broadcasts, our social media platforms. The amount of time that people are spending researching play, researching what’s happening in the field of play, researching historical data. There’s a level of intelligence that’s coming into our sport, a level of understanding that’s probably far greater now than it was five years ago.”
At this time, the PGA has no concrete plans for another physical sportsbook location at one of its courses on the tour. However, regarding the possibility of more locations, Monahan said:
“We’ll take the findings here and as opportunities present themselves, we’ll consider them. But this is unique. TPC Scottsdale, the WM Phoenix Open, this is not just unique in golf, it’s unique in all of sports. That’s what makes this the perfect opportunity for the first one.”
