This week, Hard Rock Bet, the digital betting platform owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is set to unveil microbetting lines for the forthcoming LIV Golf Chicago tournament at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. This initiative aligns with the company’s venture into in-round betting, in collaboration with Simplebet, a renowned third-party provider of microbetting lines.
Hard Rock Bet is currently operational in seven states, Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia, with plans of expanding into its home state of Florida in the pipeline. The betting company is leaning into the idea that its patrons are interested in more opportunities to place bets during golf tournaments.
Microbetting lines will debut during the LIV Golf Chicago tournament beginning on Friday, September 22. The Hard Rock Bet platform will offer bettors the chance to bet on in-round occurrences like scores on upcoming holes, whether a player’s drive will hit or miss the fairway, and the likelihood of a player hitting the green within the regulation.
The LIV Golf Chicago tournament marks the final regular season U.S. stop for the year before moving on to Saudi Arabia for the season finale between October 13 and 15. LIV returns to U.S. soil for The Golf Team Championship taking place at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami from October 20 to 22. This team championship merges stroke and match play to draw out the LIV Golf Team Champion.
The leadership of Simplebet argues that, microbetting bolsters both the bookmaker’s winnings and the sports stature by facilitating increased betting which, in turn, amplifies fan engagement and escalates sportsbooks’ revenues while boosting TV ratings and streaming viewership.
However, offering real-time, in-game microbets has hurdles to reckon with. This prompt dynamics of creating odds and accepting bets in seconds or minutes has compelled Simplebet to heavily invest in designing a unique automated betting platform.
The unveiling at the LIV Golf Chicago event epitomizes a significant milestone for the Simplebet crew. Simplebet CEO, Chris Bevilacqua expressed his excitement over partnering with a league as progressive as LIV Golf to cultivate intriguing opportunities to integrate with the sport. He further lauded his team’s extensive effort in creating an excellent product for LIV Golf’s fans worldwide.
Cameron Smith is considered the gambling favorite to claim victory at LIV Golf Chicago with odds at 8/1, closely followed by Bryson DeChambeau (10/1), and Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed both at 14/1. Others at 16/1 odds include Brooks Koepka, Talor Gooch, Mito Pereira, and Joaquin Niemann.
Microbetting has seen considerable growth, with companies like Simplebet and Betr, a microbetting challenger, successfully collaborating with top online sportsbook operators to extend their betting provision.
This year, Simplebet is providing microbetting on nearly every college and NFL football game through DraftKings, which also offered micro odds on over 2500 college basketball games last year.
Nevertheless, advocates for responsible betting express concern that microbetting might elevate addiction rates. Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, asserts that microbetting decreases the delay between placing the bet and reaping the reward, increasing the frequency and speed of gambling, which escalates the risk of compulsive behavior and adverse repercussions.
