LIV Golf announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity to oversee the compliance and education of the tour’s sports betting activities.
LIV Golf is a relatively new professional golf tour, financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Initially launched as a rival to the Professional Golf Association (PGA), the tour entities are in the process of merging.
LIV Golf will specifically use ProhiBet to ensure athletes and staff comply with sports betting tour rules and state-specifical laws. The monitoring technology, ProhiBet, began as a joint venture between sports wagering monitoring companies U.S Integrity and Odds on Compliance. In October, the two companies merged.
“This partnership with U.S. Integrity is critical as we enhance our presence in the sports gaming space,” said LIV Golf COO Lawrence Burian. “Establishing the highest standards in all aspects of our competition processes and operations is of primary importance to LIV Golf. Similar to many top sports leagues, working with industry-leading partners like U.S. Integrity demonstrates our commitment to ensuring gaming integrity within our sport.”
Golf not immune to violations
As legalized sports betting ramps up across the United States, so has the number of infractions involving both professional and college athletes. Golf is not immune. In October, the PGA Tour suspended a pair of Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA’s developmental league) pros, Vince India and Jake Staiano, for violating the tour’s gambling policy. LIV Golf latest partnership intends to monitor – and prevent – similar issues.
“Combining ProhiBet’s cutting-edge encrypted data transfer system with LIV Golf’s commitment to preserving sports integrity will enhance the transparency and reliability of their sports betting operations,” U.S. Integrity founder and CEO Matt Holt said.
U.S. Integrity has several similar partnerships across professional and college sports. In August, the Big 12 and the Mountain West college conferences joined forces with U.S. Integrity. The partnership came on the heels of several sports betting infractions among college athletes.
In September, the UFC partnered with ProhiBet, not long after an FBI investigation into suspicious wagering ahead of the featherweight bout between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Minner was subsequently suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and removed from UFC’s roster.
