Gambling on Golf Is About to Explode – The Wall Street Journal

Bobby Jones, the amateur golf great, profited handsomely from his unprecedented exploits in 1930, the year in which he completed the Grand Slam of his era. Thanks to his improbable sweep of the Open and Amateur championships in the U.S. and Britain, Mr. Jones cashed in with a lucrative motion-picture deal, among other opportunities.

Scottish golfer Bobby Cruickshank did OK, toothanks to Mr. Jones.

When Mr. Jones captured the third leg of the Slam in July at the U.S. Open at Interlachen, in Minnesota, Mr. Cruickshank cashed a betting slip worth $10,500, a tidy windfall on the $50 he risked in April with a broker in London, the Associated Press reported at the time. Mr. Cruickshank had wagered that Mr. Jones would win the years first three majors. I saw Bobby win the Savannah Open, knew the shape he was in, and made the best bet of my life, Mr. Cruickshank said in the article.

Gambling in golfor on itmight not be as old as the gutta-percha ball that became popular with golfers in the 19th century (though then again, it might), but wagering on the sport is about to explode in ways that will make your office pool seem quaint, confining and, potentially, relatively paltry.

In the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a federal law regulating sports betting in several states, wagering on sports has exploded. Between June 2018the month after the high court ruled 6-3 that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutionaland November 2020, more than $35 billion was legally wagered on sports nationwide, and sports books raked in $2.5 billion in revenue, according to the American Gaming Association. Before the ruling, the association estimates that at least $150 billion annually was gambled on sports in the U.S.and 97% of that was bet illegally.

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Gambling on Golf Is About to Explode - The Wall Street Journal