World Putting League Mini Golf Championship Bets Available at Two US Sportsbooks

The World Putting League starts its second championship event this Thursday, April 20. Bettors across US legal states will again be able to put down new and novel wagers on the professional mini golf action.

Sportsbooks DraftKings and Betfred US will be offering a variety of wagers on the one-day event.

36 putters will be competing at the Hawaiian Rumble mini golf putt-putt course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They aim to go through four rounds of the 18 hole course in just one day of putting.

Putting Bets

The winner of the previous WPL event back in February, Gary Hester, will be hitting the course to defend his title. You might think he would be the favorite. But Betfred and DraftKings have another putter on much shorter odds.

US Professional Mini Golf Hall of Famer Matt McCaslin is the bookmaker’s favorite at a +400 bet line. Returning champ Hester sits at a high line of 1500+.

The three front-running putters behind McCaslin, according to the sportsbook’s odds, are Olivia Prokopova, Greg Newport, and Joey Graybeal.

Players will compete in a knockout round structure, with 24 advancing from the first to the second round. The third round will have just 12 players, and then 6 putters will battle it out on the final round.

Pro League Network

In order for niche sports like mini golf to be accepted as suitable for sports betting, the operators (and often times, regulators) require strict statistical monitoring and oversight.

The World Putting League Championship has partnered with sports data services provider Pro League Network to make this happen.

Their work allows sportsbooks to offer more bets than just a straight up winner lines. For example at the WPL event DraftKings and Betfred customers can bet on holes in one, round scores and other markets.

“To ensure gaming integrity, PLN readies and monitors each sport for wagering by setting athlete policies and data standards before securing state approvals,” a company spokesperson said.

Easy Avenues

PLN cofounders Bill Yucatonis and Mike Salvaris were enthusiastic about the potential for sports betting to bring in more fans to mini golf, and indeed, other niche sports.

“There are passionate fans out there of sports that don’t make it on ESPN. These audiences are significant, loyal, and in many cases, already bet informally,” the pair told news outlets.

These kind of events can also offer bettors something interesting during the off-season of the major sports leagues like the NBA and the NFL.

“I think a bet is a driver of awareness and interest in a sport. No question about that,” Salvaris said.

“And our sports, in particular, we are selecting the sports we are working with, there needs to be some familiarity. Like mini golf, everyone has played mini golf before. So it’s an easy avenue.”

The WPL Championship mini golf action kicks off at 2.30 EST April 20. PGA Tour radio host Brian Katrek will be on broadcast duties. Interested viewers can watch it streamed through the tournament’s website.