New Jersey Lawmakers Seek to Keep LIV Golf Circuit Out

Sun, Oct 23, 2022

An upstart golf tour has made inroads into the golf circuit. But the LIV Tour, and member Phil Mickelson (l.) has carried a lot of baggage, namely its funding by the Saudi Arabian government, which has been accused of several human rights violations.

New Jersey Lawmakers Seek to Keep LIV Golf Circuit Out

The New Jersey legislature has taken a step to prohibit the LIV Golf Tour from holding a tournament in the state.

The LIV Tour receives funding from a Saudi Arabia-backed wealth fund. The bill, approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee 3-2 on October 13 along party lines, speaks to the human rights violations committed by the Saudi government.

LIV has pulled in a number of top names from the PGA, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, among them, according to NJ Online Gambling.

The actual legislation says the law “prohibits professional sports organizations operated utilizing funds primarily received from sovereign wealth funds from hosting sport or athletic events in this State.”

Still unanswered is whether state regulators will permit wagering on LIV events. A number of states do, but New Jersey does not.

The fate of bill S2032 and any related bills will be watched closely by other states and regulators, given the prominence of New Jersey in the sports betting realm.

But the state Department of Gambling Enforcement seems to have stepped back and let the marketplace dictate the future. Or the legislature.

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