You can’t do that
Professional golf is the latest sport to feel the negative impact of sports betting, with two players suspended for gambling violations. Vince India and Jake Staiano, who played golf on the Korn Ferry Tour, were suspended by the PGA Tour for placing bets on PGA Tour events.
Although none of the players bet on tournaments they competed in, the PGA Tour said Friday that they violated the tour’s “integrity program.” India was banned from PGA Tour-sanctioned events for six months, while Staiano was banned for three months.
The PGA Tour did not say exactly what the two men bet on or how much. It also did not explain why India’s punishment was harsher than Staiano’s.
The Korn Ferry Tour is the PGA’s development tour, a type of minor league. Players can earn their PGA Tour card through their performance during the season.
Vince India, 34, has competed in 176 events since joining the Korn Ferry Tour in 2015, winning $569,844 in prize money. He has never won or come second in a tournament. He is currently ranked 129th on the Tour points list. 27-year-old Jake Staiano only joined the tour last year and has competed in 17 events, failing to finish in the top ten in any of them. He is ranked 169th.
The top 30 players at the end of the season, which ended earlier this month, will receive PGA Tour membership for the 2024 season. The top player will also be fully exempt from playing on the PGA Tour and automatically receive a spot in the US Open and the Players Championship 2024.
Betting followout also in ice hockey
The PGA Tour’s announcement comes just a day after the NHL suspended Shane Pinto of the Ottawa Senators for 41 games – half a season – for gambling policy violations. It is the first gambling-related ban in the NHL since PASPA was repealed in 2018 and paves the way for states to legalize sports betting.
It is not known, at least to the public, what exactly Pinto did to warrant the suspension. The NHL said: “The league’s investigation found no evidence that Pinto placed bets on NHL games.”
The Ottawa Sun reported that Pinto had an online gambling account in the United States that was flagged by a gambling integrity company and reported to the NHL. The only thing that Sun I said about it being marked as “unusual activity.”
Pinto apologized and took full responsibility. The team said it would welcome him back and “accept him as one of our own.”
