Two Players Suspended by PGA Tour for Gambling
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The PGA Tour has suspended two Korn Ferry Tour professionals, Vince India and Jake Staiano, for violating its gambling policy.
The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan made the announcement last Friday, stating that Staiano and India were suspended for wagering on PGA Tour competitions.
Although neither player participated in events on which they placed bets, the wagers still represented a breach of the Tour's "Integrity Program.”
Related: PGA Golf Hecklers Suspected of Influencing Betting Outcomes
PGA Tour Imposes Suspensions
The “Integrity Program” is a set of gambling regulations created in 2018 following the Supreme Court ruling of the same year which overturned a nationwide ban on sports betting and paved the way for states to independently legalize sports betting.
According to a PGA Tour release, India has been suspended from PGA Tour-sanctioned competitions for six months, from September 18, 2023, through March 17, 2024. On the other hand, Jake Staiano received a suspension of three months from September 11, 2023, through December 10, 2023.
The Tour did not give any additional details regarding the nature of the wagers or specific breaches committed by either golfers. Neither did it explain why India’s suspension period was longer than Staiano’s despite both players violating the same regulations.
The Tour’s Integrity Program Guidelines
The Tour's official "Integrity Program" delegates much of the responsibility for enforcing gambling violations to the Commissioner's Office. However, it outlines a set of "mitigating" and "aggravating" factors that can influence the severity of the penalties.
According to the guidelines, a player's punishment for gambling might be lessened if they self-report a violation, cooperate with an investigation, or have a history of good behavior. Conversely, a player's punishment may be enhanced based on various factors, such as the amount of money wagered, the influence the bettor had on others, or the bettor's intent at the time the bet was made.
The suspensions mark the first penalties the PGA Tour would issue over wagering violations since the establishment of its "Integrity Program.” Earlier this year, the Tour announced that the program has been further expanded through two new agreements with U.S. Integrity and Genius Sports.
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