USA Legal Golf Betting Guide For 2024

Is Betting on Golf Tournaments Considered Legal In The United States As Of 2024?

Yes. There are two options for betting on the Masters, US Open, or any other golf tournament around the world.

International - Authorized online golf sportsbook sites can take bets over the Internet from customers located inside of the United States without violating any existing federal or state laws. However, the state of Washington features laws that formally prohibit all online gaming.

Domestic - Upon the repeal of PASPA in 2018, each state was granted the authority to decide its own direction regarding legal sports betting. If you are not currently located in a state that offers legal sportsbooks, chances are, you are near one and within reasonable traveling distance.

The User's Guide to Golf Betting For Americans

The more successful you are when betting golf, the better it bodes for us as a gambling resource site. So, in this guide, we're dealing with two main areas of focus.

The first deals with the types of bets you can make on golf via a high-end sportsbook, and the second will deal with giving you tips and tricks you can use to put yourself in a better position to win. So, let's get started and figure out the types of golf lines on which you can bet.

Lines/Odds In Golf

Money Line

The first and most popular sort of golf betting line is the money line. The good thing here about this line is that it's the same for every sport. Let's say you're about to place a bet on the Masters' tournament but want to figure out who's favored and which sort of bet will pay you the most money.

You notice that Jordan Spieth has a line of -225, while Tiger Woods, who's really been slumping lately, has a line of +250. The player with the lower total will always be considered a favorite.

Bettors would have to wager $225 to win $100 when betting on Spieth's -225 odds, whereas betting $100 on Woods would earn you $250. This is because one golfer is a big underdog and isn't expected to win, while the other is a favorite and it's assumed he has the best shot at a victory.

While this is the easiest bet to understand, however, it might not always be in your best interest to make. We'll discuss your betting options in the tips section below.

Top Three Finishers Line

One neat aspect of betting on golfers is that, at most sportsbooks, you're going to find odds on a golfer to finish in the top three. So let's say that you're not crazy about risking so much money on Spieth on the money line just to win $100.

Well, you could go for a bet on Spieth to finish in the top three. While this isn't paying out any better than the money line per se, it's a far less risky bet because he doesn't have to win but only needs to finish in the top three.

This sort of bet can really pay off well if you can find an underdog who's surging up the ranks. It's very common in golf for players who are huge underdogs (like +350, for instance) to surge up the charts. They might not come through and pull out the win, but they can get a top-three finish and help you earn a nice payday.

Head-to-Head Line

Another popular golf bet has to do with the structure of golf. When players tee off, they're paired up with another golfer to go through the 18 holes. The sportsbook recognizes this and will allow you to bet on a head-to-head match-up, with each player having money line odds.

The unique aspect of this bet is that the golfer you pick doesn't have to win the entire tournament; he or she only has to do better than the golfer with whom they're paired.

You can also find live odds and golf prop betting on many sportsbooks. Live bets allow you to place your wagers in real-time while the round in in-play. You can also find potential props that allow you to bet on aspects of the game like how many birdies a player makes, how many times someone makes par, which player will hit the longest drive, etc.

Your Golfing Options In The United States

One of the best aspects of betting on golf via a top online sportsbook is that you'll almost always have something on which to bet. Golf is played around the world, and of course, most Americans are familiar with the PGA and the tour events like the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championships, and the PGA championship.

But even within the PGA, there are dozens of other tour events on which you can bet, including the following:

• Women's Golf  (LPGA)
• The Senior Tour
• The PGA European Tour
• The Japan Golf Tour
• The PGA Australia
• The Sunshine Tour (South Africa)

5 Basic Golf Betting Tips

There's a reason that the vast majority of sports betters aren't simply retiring and living the rest of their days on exotic beaches drinking sugary beverages. Sports betting is very hard, and it's exceedingly difficult to consistently win.

You can do everything correctly and then your favorite player ends up injured, and this can end up costing you money.

Throughout this section of our guide, we're going to help you get a better handle on golf betting by explaining some basic tips that should be used when just starting out as a golf gambler.

These tips are not guaranteed to help you win, but they can help you make much more informed wager and will thus put you in a better position to win more money.

Join A Reliable Sportsbook Site

The sportsbook on which you choose to bet will make a world of difference to the outcome. The best sites available to US players offer sports betting are going to offer a broad range of golf options.

For instance, not only will you be able to find the three most common lines we discussed above, but you're also going to be able to find more props options, more live options, and even better, more realistic odds that adjust according to the latest information.

Another bonus you're going to get with a top-flight sportsbook is that you will get free bonus money with which to bet. When you deposit $100, golf betting sites will match a portion of that amount as a promo.

These sorts of benefits are only going to be available to you when you choose the best sportsbook. To help with this, a good place to start would be our list of the best USA online sportsbooks or our reviews section.

Start Simple

Stick to the standard golf betting types until you're familiar with how the more complicated odds operate. Start out with head-to-head bets. They're the easiest to grasp. This way, you can simply pick the best golfers and they don't even have to win the tournament to payout.

All they have to do is beat the person with whom they're paired. This is an easier type of bet to win, but the downside is that you typically can't win as much; e.g. you'll bet $50 and maybe only win $25. However, that's a far sight better than betting $50 on the underdog and turning around and losing it when the long shot doesn't pan out.

Avoid Unknown Longshots

One of the best ways you can bet on golf is to go with players who are actually winning tournaments. That isn't to say that a come-from-nowhere golfer isn't going to suddenly emerge and win the tournament, but not often.

Bet Early!

The earlier futures odds on golf tournaments are posted, the more generous the money line odds will be on each golfer involved. That means that more money can be earned by betting on the winning golfer the earlier the wager is placed.

For instance, if the Masters starts on Thursday, and the futures line has the leading golfer with a +500 money line on Monday, their odds are most likely going to edge toward even over the next 48 hours.

Don't Hedge Your Bets

Hedging your bets is a great way to minimize your potential losses and maximize potential rewards, but not so much in the realm of betting on golf.

Because golf betting lines typically involve the entire field, laying some action on more than one golfer only minimally improves your chances of winning.

There is the potential to hedge your action when betting in parings or golf prop bets that include 4 or less players, but if employing this strategy, exercise caution and don't go overboard.