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Gambling with the PGA

autumnlphillips
Nov 15, 2017
2 min read

The PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) has been around for many years, starting in 1916. It is one of the world’s largest sports organizations, with over 29,000 PGA professionals who participate in the game of golf. In 2005, Tiger Woods advanced even more in his pro golf career by winning a record seventh PGA player of the year award, breaking a mark he had previously shared with Tom Watson. Tiger Woods is the face of golf, and everyone knows him from his sponsorships and being in the league. Another important date was in 2014. Samsung had officially become an official patron of the PGA of America, this three-year agreement partnered with the Ryder Cup, and ended in 2016.

All of the important things that happen in the PGA and in the gold world seem to be great and changing for the better. But we are going to look at a new program launched in the PGA that is controversial and is unsure if It’s for the better, or for worse. This program is called the Integrity Program. This is brand new, and is set to take force on January 1st, 2018. The PGA tour has entered into an agreement with sports data-technology service Genius Sports to monitor better markets worldwide for suspicious activity. The PGA tour commissioner, Jay Monahan said in a news release announcing the deal, "[We] felt it was important to move forward with an Integrity Program to further protect our competition from betting-related issues,"

Sports Gambling has become a greater issue lately, and mostly in the Golf world. The New Jersey Supreme court came up with this idea to be able to monitor and handle these gambling practices even better. Although the PGA tour is not involved in the current case, the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, and Major League Baseball have filed a suit against Gov. Chris Christie to stop the plan. Many are against it, including the players in these sports, and many have spoken up against why they think it is a bad idea.

Genius Sports executive, Mark Locke said in the same release, "Protecting the integrity of sport has never been of greater importance and it requires forward-thinking organizations such as the PGA Tour to proactively invest in both proven technology and education,"

According to ESPN, many noted that gambling doesn’t stop once the play begins: Fans can gamble while the tournament is ongoing, with sites relying on live data to determine odds. This type of betting is gaining traction overseas, on offshore betting sites, and in Nevada, where some sports books offer mobile apps that feature live wagering within the state’s borders.

With the help and supports of the other pro sports, this can be stopped. The question is, should we stop it? There are pros and cons to both sides of the program, and we will see how long this lasts if it does go into effect in the new year.