Sports protection services firm US Integrity and LIV Golf, the controversial golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), have announced a formal partnership covering gaming integrity monitoring, compliance, and education.
As part of the deal, LIV Golf will gain access to ProhiBet, a technology built to detect prohibited gaming behavior, developed in collaboration with technology firm Odds On Compliance.
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LIV Golf chief operating officer Lawrence Burian said: “This partnership with US Integrity is critical as we enhance our presence in the sports gaming space. Establishing the highest standards in all aspects of our competition processes and operations is of primary importance to LIV Golf.
“Similar to many top sports leagues, working with industry-leading partners like US Integrity demonstrates our commitment to ensuring gaming integrity within our sport.”
US Integrity founder and chief executive Matt Holt added: "We are excited to collaborate with LIV Golf. Combining ProhiBet's cutting-edge encrypted data transfer system with LIV Golf's commitment to preserving sports integrity will enhance the transparency and reliability of their sports betting operations.”
US Integrity has a similar deal with US golf’s PGA Tour, signed this time last year as part of an expanded PGA Tour Integrity Program that was launched at the start of 2018.
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By GlobalDataIn November last year, LIV Golf revealed the calendar for its 2024 regular season, with the tour set to visit Las Vegas in the US for the first time.
LIV Golf airs in the US on the CW network, as part of a multi-year US media rights deal that the tour secured in January 2023.
That deal ended a long-running quest for LIV to secure a broadcast partner in the US, but it was condemned by various parties, including the National Press Club professional organization, due to the perception of LIV as a sportswashing project of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund.
The 2024 calendar comes despite reports that the circuit is to be shut down in favor of the PGA Tour once its proposed merger with the US tour is complete.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s bitter dispute ended earlier this year after the US tour, the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (which funds LIV Golf) announced a deal to effectively merge their respective series.
The US Senate has since launched an investigation into the planned partnership and earlier this month issued subpoenas to the PIF’s US subsidiaries to gain access to documents related to its ‘framework agreement’ with the PGA Tour and “related investments throughout the US” after the firm refused to voluntarily comply with the Senates original request.
According to the framework agreement, the for-profit assets of the three circuits will be combined into a new subsidiary tentatively called NewCo. After an evaluation of those assets, the PIF, which owns 93% of LIV Golf, will make a minority investment into the new entity.
