PGA Tour exploring deals to provide live tournament data to betting operators

Pro golf’s top association appears to be adopting an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach regarding the online sports betting industry.

On Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that the PGA Tour had issued a request for proposals (RFP) for sports data companies to submit bids on providing real-time tournament info to online sports betting operators.

The RFP document viewed by Bloomberg states that the PGA Tour “continues to explore the risk/return trade-off associated with potential entry into the online sports gaming category.” The RFP also seeks to explore other “financial upside” options, including revenue/profit sharing or equity deals.

The RFP said it would evaluate all responses before determining a course of action. A spokesman told Bloomberg that the Tour was “far away from any kind of deal” while insisting that the Tour issues such RFPs “all the time.”