The PBA Will Resume Play Saturday And Betting Lanes Are Open

• Bowling is back and betting on it is here with the debut of the PBA Strike Derby on June 6.
• The PBA partnered with FOX Bet Sportsbook who has already listed wagers on the event where EJ Tackett (+200) is favored to win.

JUPITER, Fla. – The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) will be returning to the lanes on Saturday in the debut of their PBA Strike Derby event.

The event will roll out the start of a two-month-long series with the world’s most famous bowlers and betting to go along with it.

While fans will not be allowed to attend the event due to social distancing guidelines still in place from the Coronavirus pandemic, that doesn’t mean they cannot watch it from home and place bets.

The PBA and FOX Bet Sportsbook recently established a multiyear partnership and states that have access to the sports betting operator will be able to wager using the platform during all PBA events.

Fox Bet has current operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Colorado.

Allowing betting on the tournaments will not only create fan engagement and turn a profit but it will also bring in more fans with legal sports betting experience as well.

Many professional sports organizations will still be on hiatus when bowling begins, giving the PBA time to capitalize on the situation.

The Comeback

“We are so excited to be one of the first properties bringing live sports back to broadcast television,” said Colie Edison, PBA’s CEO. “This dynamic series of events will showcase the immense talent of our elite bowlers to a wide audience and we look forward to welcoming new fans to the Professional Bowlers Association.”

The PBA Strike Derby will have no more than 50 people at the venue, Bowlero Jupiter, for health safety precautions.

Eight bowlers from the Go Bowling! PBA Tour will be competing: EJ Tackett, Kris Prather, Tommy Jones, Kyle Troup, Shawn Maldonado, Sean Rash, Anthony Simonsen, and Bill O’Neill.

The bowler favored to win is EJ Tackett (+200).

In 2019, he beat Anthony Simonsen (+500) in the World Bowling Tour (WBT) Men’s Final by one pin with a score of 233-232.

The tournament is new to the PBA so fans are unfamiliar with how it will be played. Each professional bowler will get approximately two minutes with the lanes to get as many strikes as possible.

After they all get their time to bowl, they will be broken down into brackets where they will continue to aim for strikes until a champion is crowned.

The tournament will run from 7-9 p.m. EST and will be broadcast by the FOX network.

Sports fans everywhere are excited about the PBA’s return. Having gone without sporting events for such a long time due to the Coronavirus pandemic, sports bettors, athletes, and fans are ready for the comeback.

Both the lanes and the lines will be open Saturday to get some pins knocked down and some money paid out.

News tags: Anthony Simonsen | Bill O’Neill | Bowlero | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | EJ Tackett | FOX Bet Sportsbook | Go Bowling! PBA Tour | Kris Prather | Kyle Troup | PBA | PBA Strike Derby | Professional Bowlers Association | Sean Rash | Shawn Maldonado | Tommy Jones