Celebrating the 100th edition of its long-running podcast, the Legal Sports Report quizzed the PGA Tour’s Scott Warfield about all things sports betting, fan engagement and how wagering can reach new audiences, far and wide.
Who is it?
Matt Brown, Co-Host of the LSR Podcast
Adam Candee, Managing Editor of LSR
Dustin Gouker, Head of Content, US, at Catena Media
Scott Warfield, Vice President of Gaming at PGA Tour
What is being said?
Providing a background of how his position at PGA Tour came about, Warfield started: “It probably dates back to 2017 and 2018 when PASPA was struck down. I wasn’t around for the creation of that on the Tour side but I moved over from Nascar where I was in a very similar role – that was brand-new as of two or three years ago when the Supreme Court struck down PASPA.
“The leagues have started to think about how this needs to be staffed and the Tour has a lot of folks thinking about this space on a daily basis. They have a lot of leadership on how to do it the right way but ultimately, they were looking for someone to come in and wake up every single day thinking about it from sun-up to sundown.”
He continued: “The way the Tour thinks about this space isn’t too dissimilar from the way we thought about it as Nascar, which is that legalised sports betting is here and it’s expanding across the country, and it’s an engagement opportunity foremost. Thinking about what the current fan engages with – how do you increase that and how do you get a core fan to watch another 30 or 45 minutes, or another four or five events throughout the year?
“On top of that, how do you use legalised sports betting to be more relevant to a younger and more diverse audience? I think everyone looks at the audience and the current media landscape of the fragmentation that’s happening and what can or cannot be relevant to a 25-year-old non-fan who may not have five hours for a football game or four hours for a Nascar race or golf match, but may have 90 minutes on their phone over the final six holes of a tournament.”
Why should I watch it?
To learn more about how professional sports teams and leagues are integrating sports betting into their products and offerings.
Where can I see more?
