New Jersey Bettors Unable To Wager On LIV Tournament
Written by Ian
Published date · July 25, 2022 | Last Updated · Dec. 14, 2022 | Read Time: 3 mins
New Jersey Bettors Not Allowed To Wager On LIV Tournament
For the sport bettors who’s go to wagering preference is professional men’s golf, this upcoming week for many has the option of allowing bettors to choose which tournament they would like to bet on. On the one hand, there is the tournament which has no major players playing in it, with no player ranked in the Official World Golf Rankings in the top 50. The other tournament consists of all the top names in men’s professional golf that everyone is familiar with. Players like Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, and Dustin Johnson will be playing in the latter while Maverick McNealy, Sahitch Theegala, Webb Simpson, Denncy McCarthy, and Adam Hadwin will be in the former.
The LIV Tour
While it may seem like an easy decision to make, you won’t have the choice if you live in the state of New Jersey. Known as the mecca of sports betting, in New Jersey, you can only make wagers on the John Deere Classic, featuring players out of the top 50. The bigger names in men’s golf will be participating in the LIV Tour located in Portland, Oregon, which is an event backed by Saudi Arabia, which has led to some controversy.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office, which checks in with regulators for New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, had a spokesman release a statement saying that the LIV Golf Tour has not been approved for wagering by the Division at this time. Many have called out the hypocrisy of this as New Jersey has been known for their inclusivity of what events can be wagered on. For example, you could wager on the Nathan’s Famous Competitive Hot Dog Eating contest over the 4th of July weekend. Other sporting events that are available for making wagers on are lawn bowling, badminton, handball, snooker, darts, bull riding, and sailing.
How Serious Is The LIV?
The regulators in the state of New Jersey did not approve of making wagers for the Team USA versus Team Rest of the World, which was held at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. This event is a twelve versus twelve exhibition match which includes big names such as Oscar De La Hoya, Michael Phelps, Canelo Alvarez, Michael Strahan, Ben Rothlisberger, Michael Vick, and Harry Kane.
While this competition may not be considered a serious event, the LIV tour seems to fall under the category of serious. The winner of the Portland based event will receive $4 million, which is nearly $1 million more than the winner of this year's US Open, Matthew Fitpatrick earned for his victory. There is also a 12 team format for the LIV tour where the winner among the 12 teams will have their share of $3 million. This is essentially the equivalent of finishing second in a PGA Tour for each player on the winning team. For reference, the winner of the John Deere event will win a cool $1.3 million for the tournament.
We’ll Take Our Business Elsewhere
In the state of New Jersey, DraftKings takes a large amount of the market share. Draftkings is allowing LIV event bets in Illinois, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Oregon, Connecticut, Arizona, and the province of Ontario. Unfortunately for the residents of New Jersey, a quick hopping of the border over to New York or Pennsylvania to make LIV wagers is not possible. The closest out of the eligible states would be Connecticut.
FanDuel, another big player in the state of New Jersey, has yet to post odds for the LIV event in Illinois. In Colorado however, MaximBet alone is the only sportsbook offering players to wager on the LIV. Nevada, the originator of the sports bet, has allowed all wagers for the LIV tournament.
LIV And New Jersey Moving Forward
When the LIV tour takes place at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster at the end of July, there will likely be some added pressure on the New Jersey regulators. When there are fans attending an event in the state of New Jersey, knowing about their sports betting history, sports bettors will be clamoring to take part in the action. It is presumed that, by that time, the regulators will have been able to figure out that an event that will bring in the amount of wagers that this will bring in should not be money left on the table.
