Two years on, it appears that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and the elite men’s tour have seen enough progress to allow tournaments to chase deals which Gonzalez told Sports Business Journal (SBJ) could be worth “six-figures-plus per event.”
According to SBJ, sports betting and daily fantasy categories are now open to ATP Tour tournaments at the 250 and 500 levels, but top-tier Masters 1000 events will only be permitted to pursue the latter category.
"We’re very appreciative of the support from the board," Gonzalez told SBJ. "This has happened under Andrea [Gaudenzi] coming in as our new chairman in a very difficult year, so we appreciate that. This is a great move for ATP Tour events to the able to secure revenue in a new category."
Under the new regulations, title sponsorships or presenting partnerships with sports betting or daily fantasy firms are not permitted, SBJ reports, and on-court branding cannot be placed too close to the chair umpire or players’ benches.
New revenue streams will be crucial for pro tennis as it tries to recover from the pandemic. Only two of the seven tournaments pooling their sports betting sponsorship rights were able to hold their 2020 events.
Gonzalez told SBJ that the seven US-based ATP tournaments at the 250 and 500 level have bundled their sponsorship rights together, meaning a new partner in the sports betting or daily fantasy space is likely looking at a seven-figure deal to partner those events collectively.
Source: GMB / SportsPro Media
