Genius Sports and DP World Tour Partner on New Fantasy Game
Genius Sports, a sports data and technology giant, announced the launch of a new official fantasy game for the DP World Tour.
Fantasy Game will Look to Engage New Audiences Worldwide
The free-to-play fantasy game will look to cultivate brand awareness for the DP World Tour and ultimately heighten the viewing experience for fans. Players will be able to select six players for each event of the season. A Selection Cap feature will limit how many times a player can choose their golfer throughout the season.
DP World Tour deputy chief executive and chief commercial officer Guy Kinnings said,
“The Tour’s previous fantasy games have proven extremely popular, and we are always looking at new ways to further enhance the fan experience.”
Guided by Genius Sports’ treasure chest of market-driven information, the fantasy game will give players the opportunity to create their own leagues with their family and friends while competing for unique prizes.
“This partnership combines our expertise in both free-to-play games and data-driven marketing, providing the European Tour group with a bespoke solution to engage and attract golf fans right around the world,” Juddie Goldstein, head of sales for fan engagement at Genius Sports, said.
PGA Tour and Genius Sports Partnership
The PGA Tour and Genius Sports have been business partners since 2018, when Genius Sports assisted the PGA Tour in implementing a program to prevent gambling corruption within professional golf.
According to a press release, the mission statement of the program is: “To maintain integrity and prevent and mitigate betting-related corruption in PGA TOUR competitions – ensuring competitions always reflect, and appear to reflect, the best efforts of the players, while protecting the welfare of the players and others involved with the PGA TOUR – through clear policies and regulations, ongoing education and training, and effective and consistent monitoring and enforcement functions.”
Through the program, Genius Sports will oversee a bet monitoring system that reacts to real-time betting activity and uses specialized algorithms to recognize unusual activity in betting markets across the world. The two also created an educational initiative to help players, caddies, and officials identify corruption threats. E-learning modules are made available to all PGA Tour players worldwide.
“The bedrock of PGA TOUR competition are the inherent values of golf and the honesty and integrity of our members,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “We recognize, however, that no sport is fully immune from the potential influence of gambling. So, we felt it was important to move forward with an Integrity Program to further protect our competition from betting-related issues. Genius Sports will provide essential support as we roll out the Program across the entire PGA TOUR.”
The Open Championship
The fantasy game will be available for use for the Open Championship. The 150th playing of the Open will take place at St. Andrews Golf Club. 2014 Open champion Rory McIlroy is the current favorite at +1000, while Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, and U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick, are +1600, +2000, and +1800, respectively.
