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Investment & Strategy
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BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 3 min
EURO 2024 sees record betting verification numbers
June 18, 2024
MLS ball
BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 2 min
MLS places Felipe Hernandez on leave amid gambling concerns
June 17, 2024
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Data
Time to read: 2 min
Genius Sports accelerates global integrity protection efforts
June 13, 2024
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Football
Time to read: 2 min
Corinthians cuts short Vai de Bet sponsorship over alleged money laundering
June 11, 2024
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BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 3 min
EPIC Global Solutions’ problem gambling awareness at heart of SPFL William Hill deal
June 10, 2024
Amnesty International office.
BREAKING
Data
Time to read: 5 min
Amnesty International warns FIFA ahead of World Cup bids
June 7, 2024
French authorities on the lookout for problem gambling during Euro 2024
BREAKING
Europe
Time to read: 3 min
French authorities on the lookout for problem gambling during Euro 2024
June 7, 2024
Premier League has to prove its virtues to avoid government regulation
BREAKING
Europe
Time to read: 3 min
VAR here to stay in the Premier League as clubs vote in favour
June 6, 2024
San Diego Padres
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Integrity
Time to read: 3 min
San Diego Padres’ Tucupita Marcano banned by MLB for life
June 5, 2024
Man City seeks to change Premier League APT rules with legal action
BREAKING
Europe
Time to read: 2 min
Man City seeks to change Premier League APT rules with legal action
June 5, 2024
Dortmund’s arms manufacturer partnership sparks debate
BREAKING
Europe
Time to read: 2 min
Dortmund’s arms manufacturer partnership sparks debate
June 4, 2024
Tokyo2020 Olympic Games, 75-kiloweight Boxing Fight at Ariake arena.
BREAKING
Boxing
Time to read: 2 min
IBA describes IOC ultimatum as showing ‘true colours’
June 3, 2024
High angle view of cricket equipment on field during sunny day.
BREAKING
Cricket
Time to read: 2 min
Brydon Carse banned from cricket after investigation into 303 betting charges
June 3, 2024
Swansea City logo on a window at Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales.
BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 2 min
FA amends Swansea City liaison’s ‘lenient’ betting suspension
May 30, 2024
Justice for Spain Laws in Spanish Court.
BREAKING
Europe
Time to read: 3 min
Spanish Court orders FIFA and UEFA to stop blocking ESL
May 28, 2024
BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 3 min
West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá faces four spot-fixing charges
May 24, 2024
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Integrity
Time to read: 2 min
NFL increases debt limit for new buyers to $1.4bn
May 24, 2024
BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 3 min
Three A-League players face betting corruption charges
May 17, 2024
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Features & Analysis
Time to read: 3 min
Premier League clubs to vote on removing VAR next month
May 16, 2024
Esports chair in front of computer
BREAKING
Esports
Time to read: 2 min
ESIC welcomes Kambi and Abios as anti-corruption supporters
May 15, 2024
The sports landscape has a huge range of commercial stakeholders, from governing bodies and tournaments themselves to data distributors, broadcasters and betting operators. Representing these respective sectors, IMG Arena’s Commercial Partnerships Manager for Golf, Rowan Northcott, DraftKings’ Head of Golf Trading, Stuart Purling, and PGA Tour’s VP Gaming, Scott Warfield, discussed with SBC why golf is the ideal in-play betting product. SBC: Rowan, can you give us an introduction to IMG ARENA and golf? RN: IMG ARENA signed long-term deals with the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and LPGA Tour in 2018, 2019 and 2022 respectively, with the vision that golf was a sleeping giant within the sports betting landscape. Since then, we have also been fortunate to add golf’s largest events to our portfolio including the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and Presidents Cup, underlining our commitment to the sport for the foreseeable future. Following the establishment of these partnerships, we created the Golf Event Centre, a turnkey golf betting solution. The Event Centre uses shot-by-shot data to allow fans to follow every shot in an immersive 3D environment. Our data hub ingests this shot data to generate an odds feed enabling fans to bet on every shot, from every player, and on every hole, encompassing 30,000+ different markets at each tournament. Live streaming from two par three holes and an enhanced statistics suite is seamlessly integrated in the product to provide a holistic offering for our sportsbook clients and give golf bettors a one-of-a-kind experience. SBC: What prompted IMG ARENA’s investment in golf? RN: Golf has all the hallmarks of a perfect in-play betting sport. Before we formally entered this space there were no more than 10 markets available, with settlement at the end of the round or tournament. With three to five minutes between every shot, golf is perfectly suited to in-play with bettors having ample time to evaluate the market and selection. Each tournament offers around 35,000 shots per tournament, producing a staggering amount of betting opportunities for fans of the sport. The global nature of golf from every time zone equates to significant “up-time” as sportsbooks have access to live golf from Thursday-Sunday. We knew it would take time for bettors to acclimatise to our offering, but we are now seeing signs, particularly in the booming US market, of in-play golf betting very much taking off. I often think back to when Scott and I were at this year’s WM Phoenix Open. Looking on at the famous 16th hole, we saw first-hand how excited fans were about placing bets on which player would hit it closest to the pin. This sums up the fast-paced and innovative betting activity that we are trying to create that was amplified by one of golf’s most famous tournaments. The excitement created for bettors gives all 35,000+ shots of a tournament its own story. SBC: Scott, now that the Golf Event Centre is established within operators’ platforms and the PGA TOUR’s fans are becoming more affiliated with your tournaments as a betting proposition, what comes next in this journey? SW: With the Golf Event Centre now available to the vast majority of the betting population, we are focused on growing the reach and engagement of the product through a few key avenues. In 2023, we brought the Golfbet content brand in-house which, through both our O&O and social properties, is a key lever to engage and inform golf bettors. With the PGA TOUR’s robust ShotLink data and tournament access, we can bring golf storytelling to life through a betting lens unlike any other platform and are continuing to invest in content production and innovative data tools. In addition to digital and social innovation, we have an opportunity to capitalise on the intersection of media and betting through our robust media ecosystem, including broadcast and D2C streaming. Over the coming months, fans will continue to see an organic evolution of our live coverage to incorporate engaging decision-making data alongside live competition. Last, but not least, we are continuously finding new ways to collaborate with our official betting operator partners across our collective platforms to bring world-class golf offerings to sports fans and bettors. SBC: Rowan, what are IMG ARENA’s plans for golf as a betting proposition? RN: The first challenge is to place the correct insight in front of the customer at the right time to help them make an informed decision. Therefore, we are doubling down on statistics and insights. Visualisation of these insights is key, so we released our very own strokes gained model this year and challenged our data engineers to make this information digestible. Hence the use of radar charts, percentages and rankings tables. Secondly, we want to focus on offering fans the chance to watch and bet, rather than watch or bet. Interactive streaming and bringing all the features of the product into one place is a key focus of ours across a range of sports, not just golf. Finally, in 2024, we have a host of exciting new features coming next year using AI that should add a completely new dimension for the bettor – again adding to engagement
BREAKING
Golf
Time to read: 3 min
Jimmy Dunne resigns from ‘superfluous’ PGA Tour-PIF merger role 
May 15, 2024
PFA Canada and IBIA start two-year CPL integrity education programme
BREAKING
Football
Time to read: 3 min
PFA Canada and IBIA start two-year CPL integrity education programme
May 10, 2024
Doug Hood, AGCO: proactive relationships essential to protect sports integrity
BREAKING
Features
Time to read: 7 min
Doug Hood, AGCO: proactive relationships essential to protect sports integrity
May 10, 2024
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Featured Articles
LIV Golf player Jon Rahm
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Commercial
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LIV Golf 2.0 has a backer, but the players have already given their answer
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Sideline Moves: Arsenal layoffs
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Features
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Sideline Moves - Arsenal to cut 60 jobs amid new Arteta deal
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Paramount-Warner Bros acquisition complete
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Features
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New Paramount-Warner Bros deal creates $55bn sports conglomerate 
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Michael Jordan at SBC Summit 2026
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Basketball
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SBC Summit: Michael Jordan on sport branding, NASCAR, and more
September 29, 2026