Pro League Network, the leading provider of fun, inherently bettable sports to sportsbook operators, expanded its growing footprint in golf as it announced the addition of the Xtreme Long Drive® series, sanctioned by the Long Drive Federation, and in cooperation with Ultimate Long DriveTM, and revealed the dates of the next World Putting League Championship tournament.
Pro League Network will work with the Long Drive Federation to optimize the sport for wagering by ensuring integrity and data before gaining approvals from gaming associations and bringing wagering opportunities to sportsbooks. PLN and Ultimate Long Drive will also develop bettable extensions of the sport that attract new fans and increase awareness of the sport to bettors.
On April 21, the Xtreme Long Drive® series will debut in Myrtle Beach, S.C. under a new team format that will feature 8 professional hitters competing in a 4-on-4 team double elimination event, with captains and long drive champions Jeff Crittenden and Kevin Porter drafting their squads. The hitters will compete on Trackman-powered golf simulators for season-long points and cash prizes.
Founded in 2017, Ultimate Long Drive is the largest long drive golf organization in the world. Ultimate Long Drive provides long drive golf competitions for all ages and abilities around the world. Operating more than 350 long drive professional and amateur events per year, Ultimate Long Drive hosts Xtreme Long Drive®, the Ultimate Long Drive World Championship, leagues and regional majors.
“We think long drive is the perfect sport for wagering – what’s more fun than putting money on two hitters going back and forth to see who can drive a golf ball furthest,” said Pro League Network Bill Yucatonis and Mike Salvaris. “We’ve seen a lot of interest in wagering on golf properties, so it made a lot of sense to expand our footprint in the sport with Ultimate Long Drive. We greatly admire what Jeff has built and can’t wait to work with him to bring it to the next level.”
“When I met Mike & Bill, I was so impressed with their vision for bringing wagering to Extreme Long Drive,” said Ultimate Long Drive Founder Jeff Gilder. “I’m excited to bring long drive to more fans through wagering and the creative ideas Pro League Network has for our competitions.”
Pro League Network also announced its second World Putting League Championship tournament will take place on April 20 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Following the success of the inaugural tournament on Feb. 27 & 28, the upcoming World Putting League Championship will feature morning round stroke play with the top eight finishers advancing to the afternoon bracket matchup.
Mini golf fans can wager on outcomes in the WPL Championship like most holes in one, most holes in one on specific holes and putters to advance to bracket play and to win. Fans can tune in at TheWorldPuttingLeague.com and can wager on BetFred in multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
The inaugural WPL Championship, hosted in conjunction with U.S. Pro MiniGolf Association, was live streamed at TheWorldPuttingLeague.com and authorized for wagering in multiple U.S. jurisdictions, marking the first live broadcast of professional mini golf and the first legal bet on minigolf in the US.
The broadcast featured Emmy award winning PGA Tour Radio Host Brian Katrek on the play-by-play, with sideline reporting by PLN Picks host and professional volleyball player Kaz Brown and golf influencers The Bogey Bois. The PLN-produced stream was in-turn re-streamed by Rob Pizzola’s The Hammer (sponsored by BetFred, a PLN Wagering Partner).
PLN launched in early Dec. 2022 to bring fun and inherently bettable live sports to sportsbook operators. The company’s first combat sport, SlapFIGHT Championship, was offered for wagering on Draftkings in multiple jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 3 and was streamed on FiteTV and internationally on Sport1.
The company works with its portfolio of sports through exclusive, multi-year relationships allowing commercialization of sponsorship, data and streaming opportunities relating to wagering. This “watch’n’wager” content allows sportsbooks to better monetize their peaks and valleys of schedule with compliant and regulated professional sports data and video that is optimized for wagering. PLN also directs marketing and promotional activities, specifically to increase the wagering opportunities for each sport.
To ensure gaming integrity, PLN readies and monitors each sport for wagering by setting athlete policies and data standards, before securing State approvals. The company is working with a number of industry providers including US Integrity for integrity monitoring, Sports Info Solutions for data distribution, affiliate partners like Dimers.com.
For more information, please visit www.ProLeagueNetwork.com.
About Pro League Network
Pro League Network (www.ProLeagueNetwork.com) is a sports wagering company focused on bringing exclusive, fun and inherently bettable sports to sportsbook operators, helping them fill under-optimized dayparts on the sports betting calendar. PLN readies and monitors each sport for wagering, as well as produces, distributes and monetizes each sport through wagering, sponsorship and affiliate. PLN has obtained the exclusive rights to multiple professional sports with a current reach into more than 100 countries and tens of millions of impressions per week.