Coolbet Deal with PGA of Canada has Industry People Perplexed

Posted on: April 8, 2025, 11:29h. 

Last updated on: April 8, 2025, 12:07h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.
  • Coolbet pulled out of the Ontario iGaming market in 2023
  • BetRegal announced a similar deal with PGA of Canada in 2022
  • Coolbet’s not licensed anywhere in Canada

As first reported in Canadian Gaming Business, Coolbet announced a deal with PGA of Canada last week where the sportsbook operator becomes the new official betting partner of the PGA and RBC PGA Scramble.

Cabot Cape Breton, site of this year’s RBC PGA Scramble Final. (ImageShutterstock)

The PGA of Canada is the member-based, nonprofit association representing golf club professionals across the country. The scramble is a grassroots team golf event with 12K amateur golfers playing annually. 

The deal will see Coolbet activate at various club events nationwide, along with local and regional RBC PGA Scramble qualifiers across Canada, with the National Final scheduled for October 4-8 at Cabot Cape Breton.

Coolbet will offer exclusive promotions and contests for PGA members and participants in the scramble. Coolbet also will provide exclusive odds for select PGA of Canada events, including the PGA of Canada Championship.

The only thing is – Coolbet pulled out of the Ontario market in May 2023. All of its Canadian activity is in the unregulated space. Geolocation technology blocks any access to Coolbet’s website from Ontario.

Canadian Gaming: BetRegal Never Launched

The whole thing has Aly Lalani, BetRegal’s head of marketing in 2022, a little perplexed. The iGaming operator announced a similar deal with the PGA of Canada that year, shortly after the regulated market in Ontario went live. The three-year agreement saw the Canadian gaming company become the Official Sports Betting Partner of the association. BetRegal also had a partnership with the CFL when the Ontario market went live.

However, BetRegal never got its license in Ontario and never launched, and those partnerships expired.

Lalani, now an industry consultant, said he was “surprised” to hear about the new partnership. 

“I’m not so surprised from CoolBet’s perspective, more from the PGA of Canada viewpoint,” Lalani said. “The average golfer demographic has always been one that is favorable to sportsbooks – typically higher than average disposable income, more often than not a sports fan and competitive by nature. All things that help define an ideal sports betting customer. 

Grey Market Operates Freely

“As someone who has worked in a partnership capacity with the PGA of Canada, I can say it’s a difficult partnership to effectively activate,” Lalani said. “There is not some centralized event (Super Bowl) or weekly series of events where the operator has centralized eyeballs. Rather, this partnership is more about having access to the 2,000+ golf courses across Canada to be able to deliver a message directly to the golf community. To do this effectively, it will require a combination of creativity and activation budget.”

The fact Coolbet is operating in Canada’s unregulated market doesn’t appear to phase the PGA of Canada.

“It has been incredible to watch the consistent growth of the RBC PGA Scramble since its inception in 2015, and this partnership with Coolbet will further the experience even more for participants,” said Kevin Thistle, PGA of Canada CEO. “Coolbet’s commitment to transparency and responsible gaming was a big factor in our partnership in addition to their commitment to the game of golf through various partnerships they’ve supported.”

Responsible gambling is a focus in their messaging, according to Coolbet’s Partnerships Manager Andrew Aguanno.

“We’re committed to using our resources to enhance the experience for members, from providing innovative odds for the PGA Championships to promoting responsible gambling education,” he said in a written statement. “We’re also excited to support PGA programming like the RBC Scramble, and we look forward to creating memorable opportunities together.”

Little Legal Enforcement

The deal also puts into question weakness in Canada when it comes to legal enforcement against unlicensed sportsbooks. As one senior industry source told Casino.org, the deal shows how much of a “mess” enforcement across the country is in markets where grey market operators do business up against the provincial lotteries.

Nobody is sure what is legal and what isn’t,” the source said. “The lotteries try to spin that the Criminal Code provides them ‘exclusive rights’ to offer gambling in their jurisdiction(s). That is also unclear and inaccurate.”

Bodog for years had a free-to-play partnership with the CFL. The size of the grey market in provinces where only the lotteries operate legally is up for debate. In BC, for example, an industry source pegs the market share for British Columbia Lottery Corporation and its PlayNow iGaming platform at 25%.

Lalani said the Coolbet and PGA of Canada deal is a partnership he’s going to keep an eye on.

“I am just not sure what [PGA of Canada’s] goals are [besides sponsorship dollars],” he said. “Perhaps there was limited interest from the regulated operators given the required investment from a resource perspective [beyond sponsorship dollars] to create an effective and sustainable partnership.”