BetMGM loses a staggering £150,000 on golden darts pledge after Premier League rains nine-dart finishes

Premier League sponsors BetMGM said that this year's event was a 'real success' for the brand despite losing a lot of money from nine darters. As the sport rises in popularity, more people have started to follow it and this has led to the Premier League finals night being the largest darts crowd ever in the UK

Brand director Dan Towse is reaping the rewards of this, with his brand 'front and centre' of all 17 nights. "Sponsoring the BetMGM Premier League has been a real success for us as a brand," Towse said in an interview with The Mirror. "Darts as a sport continues to grow and the BetMGM Premier League alone has seen growth in viewing figures year-on-year. Finals Night at the O2 saw the largest ever darts crowd in the UK.

"It's fantastic that we are front and centre of one of the biggest events in the darting calendar for 17 weeks and we have seen really positive numbers in recognition of the BetMGM brand and attribution of our sponsorship to the tournament."

Proof of darts recent rise in popularity

Darts has been on the rise for some years now, with the game taking off with the intorduction of a 16-year-old Luke Littler at Alexander Palace in 2023. Since then, the sport's popularity has continued to grow with there being more events than ever in more countries.

Towse says that the growth has been particularly due to the impact Littler has had, but does not see the sport decreasing in support any time soon.

"Darts has become a truly global game with new tournaments in new regions taking place every year, and I can only see the sport's popularity continuing to rise in the coming years, particularly with the impact the likes of Luke Littler have had," Towse continued. "But for us personally, we have already seen growth in metrics from year-on-year and heading into 2026 we can't wait to do it all over again!"

Adding to that, he believes the level of darts has also increased, linked to the rise in nine darters in this Premier League campaign. "I think it shows the standard of professional darts at the moment."

Positive reviews from engaged players 

As an incentive towards the eight Premier League players, Bet MGM offered anyone who hit a nine-darter a £30,000 set of 18-carat solid golden arrows. Incredibly, five perfect legs were seen across the seventeen nights, including two in Brighton in a memorable night on the Sussex coast.

"Nine-darters are incredible moments for players, fans and us at BetMGM." Towse said. "Naturally, TV coverage, replays and social noise to nine-darters help the brand cut through visually. But we wanted to elevate that further by offering an incentive of 18ct gold darts to players who achieved the feat throughout the season, which added something to what is already a huge achievement."

Bet MGM's plan to motivate these players in hitting nine darters for a special reward definitely paid off, with Rob Cross, Luke Humphries and Littler all getting a set, with Gerwyn Price having received two sets for his heroics in Manchester and Aberdeen. This has set back the bookmakers an eye-watering £150,000, but there is no sign that they will be stopping it next year.

"The gold darts were also something the players were genuinely incentivised by," Towse said. "We put together the campaign because we wanted to reward the players for achieving a feat that doesn't happen very often. The reaction from the players has been really positive – some have already asked if we'll be doing it again next year, which shows how engaged they have been with the campaign. Did we expect two on the same night in Brighton? No, but it was incredible to see in person."