Golf’s Big Swing on Sports Betting w/Scott Warfield

Fantasy sports is one of the biggest catalysts to sports fandom. Whether it is a fantasy football league with your college friends, an office NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket, or a dynasty baseball league, competitions running parallel to the sporting events level up fandom. For example, a casual baseball fan may watch an extra game or two per week when participating in a fantasy league.

Research backs up this observation, as a study by Todd Nesbit and Kerry King found fantasy participants watched 73% more MLB games per week and 35% more NFL games per week than non-participants. Fantasy sports are a marketing vehicle for their respective leagues, growing fan (and customer) bases to maximize their audience potential.

The sports betting market is making a similar impact on the way fans consume sports. Over half of the country has legalized the practice since 2019. Before the 2021 NFL season, Americans had wagered more than $65 billion on sports since the Supreme Court’s Murphy vs. NCAA ruling opened the floodgates for sports betting. With that much money moving around, teams and leagues want a piece of that action.

The WorkInSports Podcast spoke at length about sports betting careers with PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken, and today we see its impact in one segment of the industry. Our guest is Scott Warfield, PGA Tour VP of Gaming. In 2019, golf accounted for 1% of all sports betting. Warfield and his team are looking to improve that. Catch the full episode as he and VP of Content and Engaged Learning Brian Clapp discuss:

•    How Warfield journey brought him to the sports industry
•    Why Warfield shifted his focus toward gaming
•    What golf’s growth potential is in the sports betting industry
•    What opportunities are available for sports betting careers

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