LIV Golf has announced a new piece of business after signing a deal with Simplebet as the league's Official Sports Betting Innovation Partner.
The partnership will see Simplebet distribute live data from LIV Golf League events to betting companies "providing innovative single-screen in-play wager technology complimented with low latency video streaming in the US and other international markets".
It will mean in-play betting on LIV Golf events, from who wins the tournament to individual player prop bets, scores on their next holes and even whether they find fairways off the tee will be available.
Having a small field and a shotgun start also offers a change from a regular golf tournament which could provide for a different way of betting on the game.
Offering an alternative to the norm and trying to showcase new technology is one of the ways LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman hopes to stand out and keep the tour going beyond any PGA Tour-PIF merger.
“Developing new ways that golf can progress into the future has been a league tenet since day one,” said Norman.
“LIV Golf presents a supercharged tournament and fan experience showcasing a consistent field of the world’s best players competing at the same time under the same conditions.
"With golf becoming an increasingly popular sport within the multi-billion-dollar sports betting market, our league is proud to work with Simplebet which aligns with our competition model that every shot from every player is meaningful, from start to finish.”
Simplebet CEO Chris Bevilacqua said the deal was “a transcendent moment for the sport" after signing the deal.
"We are thrilled to serve as the Official Sports Betting Innovation Partner of LIV Golf,” he added.
“We’ve revolutionized the way audiences around the world connect with live sports by unlocking fan engagement opportunities and together with LIV Golf, we will create the new blueprint for how sports leagues can maximize their IP through innovative betting.”
Although there are plenty of questions about what LIV Golf will look like if and when a deal is done, it does now look likely that it will continue in some way.
Documents presented at a US Senate hearing into the deal though suggest that Norman will not be in charge even if LIV Golf does survive.
Those documents also suggested that Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods would be asked to front teams in whatever form LIV Golf takes in the future - one of a number of bombshells that came out of the hearing.
Bit signing deals like this one shows that behind the scenes LIV Golf is proceeding as usual and companies are confident enough that the tour will continue to sign up.
