It’s the day before the first LIV Golf event in London, as the list grows of PGA TOUR players defecting to the controversial tour financed by Saudi oligarchs accused of various human rights violations. But for golf fans in the United States interested in making bets, only a small list of states have approved LIV golf betting.
That means unless you are in those states, you cannot legally place real money wagers on anything related to LIV golf odds. Here’s why.
Free Pick’Em Contests! Compete for prizes every day by entering our free betting games. NBA, MLB, golf and more!
Legal Difference Between PGA TOUR and LIV Golf
So why can you bet on RBC Canadian Open odds from the PGA TOUR this week, or US Open odds from the USGA for next week’s major but not LIV golf?
TheLines reached out to several sportsbooks for clarification on the legal differences between these golf odds.
“Regulators vary from state to state and make different rules in each. Most (leagues) need a governing body and other specific things in place to allow us to offer. Until recently, LIV did not have that available,” BetMGM trader Christian Cipollini told TheLines. “Some states only approve one (sportsbook) at a time.”
In other words, because LIV golf didn’t have a governing body or an integrity policy until recently, the sportsbooks even asking states to approve LIV golf betting was a non-starter.
“Those are the two big ones that most regulators need to see in order to approve any event,” said Cipollini. “If it doesn’t have both of those, it will typically be a no from every regulator.”
Where Can You Bet On LIV Golf Legally?
As of Wednesday afternoon, FanDuel was only approved in three states for LIV golf betting, according to one FanDuel Sportsbook official. So, the nation’s largest operator opted not to post odds at all ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
BetMGM was approved in more states, but another rep for the sportsbook told TheLines Wednesday it was not offering odds to bettors.
DraftKings has only received the green light in Illinois, Oregon, Ontario, Connecticut, Arizona, and Wyoming.
BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse only has LIV golf London betting in Connecticut and Ontario for both traditional golf markets and winner of the four-man team format.
The event will look different than the PGA TOUR – with only three rounds of play and shotgun starts in which the entire field tees off at the same time at different holes around the course. There’s also some type of unusual four-man team element as well with team logos that look like they were designed in a high school Photoshop class.
| Golfer | DK Odds |
|---|---|
| Dustin Johnson | +400 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +900 |
| Talor Gooch | +1000 |
| Kevin Na | +1200 |
| Sergio Garcia | +1200 |
| Sam Horsfield | +1800 |
| Bernd Wiesberger | +2000 |
| Phil Mickelson | +2200 |
| Justin Harding | +2500 |
| Pablo Larrazabal | +2500 |
| Charl Schwartzel | +2800 |
| Ian Poulter | +2800 |
| Lee Westwood | +2800 |
| Matt Jones | +2800 |
| Scott Vincent | +3000 |
| Hennie Du Plessis | +3500 |
| Hudson Swafford | +3500 |
| Laurie Canter | +3500 |
| Richard Bland | +3500 |
| Oliver Bekker | +4000 |
| Adrian Otaegui | +5000 |
| Branden Grace | +5000 |
| Graeme McDowell | +5000 |
| Martin Kaymer | +5000 |
| Sadom Kaewkanjana | +5000 |
| Shaun Norris | +5000 |
| Sihwan Kim | +5000 |
| Wade Ormsby | +5000 |
| Peter Uihlein | +6000 |
| Phachara Khongwatmai | +6500 |
| Hideto Tanihara | +8000 |
| Ryosuke Kinoshita | +8000 |
| J.C. Ritchie | +8000 |
| Chase Koepka | +10000 |
| Jinichiro Kozuma | +10000 |
| Travis Smyth | +10000 |
| Andy Ogltree | +13000 |
| Jediah Morgan | +13000 |
| Blake Windred | +15000 |
| David Puig | +20000 |
| Oliver Fisher | +20000 |
| Ratchanon Chantananuwat | +20000 |
| Turk Pettit | +20000 |
| James Piot | +25000 |
| Ian Snyman | +25000 |
| Itthipat Buranatanyarat | +30000 |
| Kevin Yuan | +30000 |
| Viraj Madappa | +30000 |
Follow TheLines on Twitter
