If sports betting becomes legal, the PGA Tour would like you to wager on them and the likes of Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told USA TODAY this week that "If it's legalized and regulated, you get to a point where you can better ensure the integrity of your competitions. You can provide adequate protection for consumers, which doesn't exist today. There are commercial opportunities for us, which is one of the things we're here to do, which is to create and maximize playing and financial opportunities for our players.
“And we believe we’d reach a much broader audience.”
And a profit.
Monahan said the tour would demand a percentage fee from gambling operators.
Monahan’s comments come ahead of a looming Supreme Court decision over the federal ban that prohibits state-sponsored sports betting in all but four states — Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. Of those, only Nevada allows betting on single games or events.
PGA Tour events include the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and the Tour Championship at East Lake.
“The point some people will make is that we are now actively supporting legalized gambling,” Monahan said. “Well, yes, we are.”
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