PFL CEO Peter Murray denies the tournament-based promotion “technically” did anything wrong when its broadcast partner Fubo TV advertised an April 1 Challenger Series event as live, triggering betting action on sports books, when in fact it was pre-taped on March 25.
But Murray admitted the messaging led to “confusion among fans” and “confusion among the sports book community,” and said the promotion is working with its broadcast partner to ensure it never happens again.
“We’re accountable as [a] world-class, in our view, organization … and as a media entity, we pride ourselves on communications, and so, we’ve addressed that internally to ensure that will never happen again,” Murray said Wednesday on The MMA Hour.
On the official Twitter account of Fubo TV, the April 1 event was advertised as “LIVE,” while the promotion’s website showed it was prerecorded, according to ESPN.com., which first reported the news.
TONIGHT PFL Challenger Series presents their professional debuts
Check out all the action LIVE at 9PM ET anywhere you can stream @fubosports #PFLonfuboTV pic.twitter.com/fO6dgfr3UA— fuboTV (@fuboTV) April 1, 2022
“This was the only recorded event we had ever done. We have an excellent record of execution live events in four years with multiple bookmakers taking bets both domestically and internationally. Murray did not elaborate on why this event was recorded. It was a learning experience, so it will only be temporary, but it is a lesson that we use in our best practices .
Multiple states including Arizona and Colorado have removed PFL events from their wagering catalogue after U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas-based betting watchdog, alerted sports books of potentially “nefarious behavior” when betting lines for the April 1-televised event swung significantly toward the eventual winners, according to ESPN.com. U.S. Integrity confirmed with the PFL that the event was pre-taped on March 25.
Susie Carr spoke for Colorado Gaming Commission and told MMA Fighting that the PFL was “suspended” while investigators investigate the incident. At issue is whether any bettors could have benefitted from betting on fights that had already been decided. In one instance, PFL heavyweight Rakim Talley improved to a -2500 from -290 before his bout against Santino Zurita. The unanimous decision won him the fight.
Several bettors told ESPN.com they believed the fights were live and some did not receive their winnings.
According to ESPN.com, PFL spokesperson Loren Mack wrote in an email that any sports books that took betting action on the fights did so without permission or consent from the PFL. He added the promotion “entered confidentiality agreements with everyone involved.”
Murray said sports books will have access to the PFL’s 2022 season kickoff event on April 20 at Esports Arena in Arlington, Texas, which airs on ESPN and ESPN+.
