Betting on sporting events has been around for centuries, basically since humans first began to compete. But until recently, betting on sports had a number of caveats making it difficult to for the average individual to access it. Times are changing however, and LPGA is the recent in a long list of companies to make an agreement in order to make gambling on sports more widespread and accessible for all.
What is the LPGA?
If you haven’t heard of the LPGA, you aren’t alone, as it isn’t the most well-known sports league out there. But the LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golf Association and it is based in Daytona Beach, Florida. The LPGA is the largest and most famous ladies golf association in the world. They’ve hosted golf tours annually since 1950 when they were founded by the 13 original female golfers in the league.
The Agreement
The agreement between LPGA and MGM, which occurred in early May 2021, is that BetMGM will be the associations official betting partner, and offer odds on ladies’ golf right alongside other sports such as soccer and football. BetMGM will additionally be able to use the associations logo to make promotions and events to advertise their sports betting projects. This is supposedly a multi-year agreement, though the exact end date is not specified. It is likely that the two companies have contract which perpetuates until further notice.
Why Is MGM Suddenly Interested In Ladies Golf?
You may be wondering just why a massive company like MGM would scoop up the right to have betting odds on ladies’ golf, and it’s simple, MGM is simply following the money. In 2020, sports betting became bigger than ever before as people put the money that they would normally spend on the live sports games, on sports bets instead. And although betting on sports originally just included football, soccer, and basketball, MGM has already expanded previously to include many male golf events, so it’s logical the ladies’ events would follow.
Whether you like it or not, society is changing, and women are starting to reach more prominent roles. In fact, even before this agreement between the LPGA and MGM was signed, many of the most popular players in the ladies’ league were already working as gold ambassadors for the MGM franchise. Thus, it seems like a logical move for the MGM to offer odds on the games and players it is already monetarily sponsoring. Besides just golf increasing in popularity, sports betting among women is increasing as well, and in a 2019 study, women were found to make up 20% of sports bettors. So it’s likely that MGM picked up the rights for odds on the LPGA in order to snag more male and female sports bettors alike.
MGM Snatching Partnerships Left And Right
This new agreement with the LPGA isn’t the first partnership MGM has made. They are actually currently partnered with both the MLB, NBA, and Nascar when it comes to sports betting. Now of course it’s impossible to know exactly what these deals include, but there is some concern by bettors that BetMGM is quickly becoming a monopoly in the sports betting world. And bettors are afraid this will affect the odds they are given to bet on.
Honestly, sports bettors don’t necessarily have to worry about these partnerships, and that’s because they are mostly marketing partnerships. This means that, for example, BetMGM offers odds on NBA games, and uses their logo to promote sports betting events. In return, the NBA gets a small cut of BetMGM’s profits as well as free advertising for people to watch their games. While this does raise the odds a little (after all the money to pay the NBA has to come from somewhere) the amount is barely noticeable. Not only that, but even if you bet on an independent sports book, they will often include their own fees which aren’t going back to the league.
What is a concern however, is the advertising giant BetMGM is becoming. Besides just snatching up the rights for multiple sports leagues, MGM has also attained the right to advertise for several sportswear companies like The Athletic and more than one sports team. As of the writing of this article, BetMGM has agreements with the Denver Broncos, the Pittsburg Steelers, and the Detroit Tigers just to name a few. It’s actually quite scary how many partnerships they currently have. You can google ‘BetMGM partnerships’ and scroll through just to get an idea. Although advertising isn’t on everyone’s worry list, a monopoly like the one BetMGM is forming should be on everyone’s radar, and this is because a monopoly is never good for businesses, no matter how you look at it.
Should You Bet On Sports?
Getting back on topic, should you bet on sports? Well, sports betting is gambling, and this does mean that it still carries the inherent risk that any sort of gambling game carries. But according to most experts, sports betting is technically better than gambling on slot machines or table games. And this is because sports betting is considered a skill game which you can beat if you know what you are doing. This means you are more likely to walk away with some money when betting on sports.
Not only that, but sports betting can be a way to increase the entertainment found while watching sports without having to spend tons of money. Think of it this way, the average ticket to an NFL game can cost over $100, while watching the game at home is free. Generally, you and your friends probably think going to the game is more fun. But what if you stay at home and watch the game on TV but everyone wagers money at a local sports book? Most sports books will allow bets as low as $10 and this means you can increase your fun without breaking the bank. And you might just win some money too!
Overall, sports betting is still gambling, and it is still risky, but it is one of the more fun ways to gamble. And thanks to MGM and its massive partnership empire, you can now bet on more sports than ever before. So grab your friends and place some bets on the LPGA at your next sports watching party!
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