PGA Tour players will now have even more sponsorship options available, as the PGA Tour is lifting a ban on gambling sponsors.
Andy Levinson, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of tournament administration, spoke about the decision.
“Because of the Supreme Court’s decision last year, and because of the direction that we see legalized, regulated sports betting going in this country, and just because of the public perception toward gaming, we’ve made the decision to remove a great deal of the prohibitions on gambling sponsorships in our sport,” Levinson said, per Jason Sobel of The Action Network.
This is no surprise. Given the ruling referenced by Levinson, this opens the door to a number of sponsors that didn’t previously exist.
Golfers, in particular, are dream marketers for these companies. Golf is a slow-moving game. Golfers are often shown standing or moving very little for long period of time. As such, they’re already essentially human billboards, as different labels are seen on their hats, shirts, and even bags.
This decision feels like one that will benefit the potential sponsors, the PGA Tour, and the golfers themselves.