Folks who live in the great state of New Jersey and want to throw some money on the Citrus Bowl ran into a bit of a problem on Friday. Gaming regulators in the Garden State ordered sportsbooks to halt betting on the matchup between Purdue and LSU, which kicks off on Monday afternoon, due to someone with the Boilermakers football program whose involvement in the game violates regulations.
This is not a case of a player or coach throwing some cash down on the game and potentially jeopardizing the whole thing. Instead, David Purdum of ESPN reports that the issue is Purdue interim assistant coach Drew Brees, who previously served as a brand ambassador and held an equity stake in the sportsbook PointsBet, which is based out of New Jersey.
Per ESPN:
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement instructed the state’s sportsbooks to stop taking bets involving Purdue football and said existing wagers on the Citrus Bowl that were placed after Dec. 15 must be voided, according to the notice that was sent Friday morning and obtained by ESPN. Brees, a Purdue alum, signed on to be an interim coach on Dec. 15.
Brees joined his alma mater’s football program back on Dec. 15 as new head coach Ryan Walters started to get used to life in West Lafayette. A week after Brees came on board, PointsBet cut ties with the Super Bowl winning signal caller. You may recall that Brees, as part of a viral marketing campaign for PointsBet at the beginning of December, pretended to get hit by lightning.
The Citrus Bowl kicks off on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
