Somehow, Legally Betting On Golden Tee Is Now A Real Thing In Nevada

The Nevada Gaming Control Board normally isn’t full of surprises. New games and events that receive approval for casinos are typically tested and well known before seeing the light of day.

Well, thanks to a request from Boyd Gaming, and specifically, The Orleans, the gaming control board just flipped the script by allowing casinos to take wagers on a contest for a video game typically played in bars.

This week the Nevada Gaming Control Board granted approval to casinos to offer wagers on the winner of the Golden Tee 2018 World Championship. Yes, this is the same Golden Tee game you play at bars for years. This is a legit wagering opportunity where sportsbook operators have to comply with the Gaming Control Board or risk losing their license.

Don’t get too worked up about the potential for news and strange bets here. Nevada sportsbook operators may only post odds and accept wagers on the winner of the Golden Tee 2018 World Championship. While this is open to all sportsbooks, Boyd Gaming/Orleans appears to be the only sportsbook ready to take action. There are no prop bets for this event unless a sportsbooks operator makes a special request to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

What Is The Golden Tee 2018 World Championship?

The Golden Tee 2018 World Championship takes place at The Orleans in Las Vegas from June 8-10. Qualifying to participate in this event started in February and 63 of the 64 slots are already occupied. You can snag the last spot if you’re in Vegas on the first day of the tournament.

The prize pool is $100,000 so you might want to enter if you have skills. First place in the Championship Bracket will take home $20,000, and second-place will take home $10,000. No player who qualifies and participates will walk away with less than $450 cash. Not too shabby for a no-entry-fee contest.

What’s next?

The Golden Tee 2018 World Championship is a strange event to receive approval for casinos in Nevada to take bets on. There are plenty of esports and skill contests like this in Las Vegas every year. Most of those events don’t have an opportunity for gamblers to get in on the action. So why would gaming approve such a small and relatively unknown event for betting?

Nevada sportsbook operators tend to avoid taking wagers on untraditional events. Requests to take bets on Esports or one-off events have to be made individually. The size of new and smaller events often isn’t worth the time and effort. Right now it’s difficult to imagine how this event could generate much if any, revenue.

Is this the beginning of a new day of event betting in Nevada? Between large esports events like EVO and non-traditional sports like the Pro Darts Championship, there are plenty of opportunities to open up new betting streams. It’s up to sportsbook operators to decide whether or not they want to take wagers on these kinds of events. As of today, the Nevada Gaming Control Board website doesn’t have any more unique events listed.