PGA Tour Playoffs Head to New Jersey Where Sports Betting Will Take Place Just Outside the Ropes

Posted on: August 19, 2018, 10:00h. 

Last updated on: August 19, 2018, 03:26h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The PGA Tour tees off its 12th edition of the FedEx Cup Playoffs next week in Paramus, New Jersey, where legalized sports betting will be taking place throughout the state, and perhaps even on the golf course grounds.

PGA Tour sports betting golf odds
As Tiger Woods and other PGA Tour players walk by, sports bettors in New Jersey could be making wagers on the tournament via their mobile phones. (Image: Neil Miller/New York Post)

In what will be the first major sporting event to occur in a state with legalized sports gambling since the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the longtime federal prohibition in May, the PGA Tour will take the lead in protecting game integrity. Along with the NBA, MLB, and NHL, the PGA Tour is hoping to receive a cut of the total bets placed on its sanctioned golf tournaments.

With New Jersey sportsbooks up and running at six Atlantic City casinos and two horse racetracks – Monmouth Park and Meadowlands – the state has finishes its regulatory process. And the Tour won’t be receiving a so-called “integrity fee” for wagers made on next week’s Northern Trust Open at Ridgewood Country Club.

Mobile Concerns

The first of four legs of the FedEx Cup will take place less than a half-hour’s drive from the Meadowlands FanDuel Sportsbook. Bettors there will be able to put money on which of the 125 players will win come Sunday. They might also be able to take prop bets such as whether Tiger Woods or Dustin Johnson will have a better week.

A major concern for the PGA Tour is if mobile betting will be in place before Thursday’s tee off. Resorts, one of the six Atlantic City casinos with sports gambling underway, received authorization with partner DraftKings from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (D) earlier this month for a soft-launch of mobile sports betting.

The app was released to a limited number of users. The DGE hasn’t said when it might permit Resorts and DraftKings to open up the app to the general public. Other casino sportsbooks are also in the process of releasing mobile sports betting platforms.

The Tour wants states that are legalize sports betting to avoid allowing in-game prop bets such as whether Tiger will miss his next fairway. PGA officials feel that’s an area that could become susceptible to outside influences and jeopardize the integrity of golf.

For instance, say a player who hasn’t made a cut and received a paycheck in months is approached by a rogue gambler who offers him $10,000 to hit his ball into the water on a certain hole. The hazard isn’t really in play and most players don’t hit it in the water, so the gambler finds relatively long odds and wins big.

FedEx Odds

The Wyndham Championship is underway this week in North Carolina, where Brandt Snedeker made headlines by shooting an opening round 59. It was just the 10th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

Once the Top 125 is decided on Sunday, the best players in the world move to New Jersey.

Points leader Dustin Johnson is the favorite to win the FedEx Cup and the $10 million first-place prize at 6/1. Justin Thomas is next (8/1), followed by Brooks Koepka (10/1), and Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Tiger Woods at 12/1.