The UFC has struck a deal with U.S. Integrity to monitor, identify and analyze unusual betting activity on fights in the promotion as well as on Dana White’s Contender Series.
The partnership was announced on Thursday. U.S. Integrity initially launched an investigation following a UFC fight between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke this past November that saw a huge swing in betting odds just hours before the bout took place. Minner was viewed as a huge underdog by sportsbooks, just hours before losing a first round TKO to Nuedanbieke.
Now, the Las Vegas-based company will collaborate with the UFC in order to track betting activities for all fights. The UFC has changed its rules so that athletes cannot place wagers on fighters.
The UFC has now banned coaches, managers, and trainers placing bets about fights. Additionally, potential penalties could come back to the fighters represented by them.
“Throughout this process, we have had productive discussions with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to address the concerns AGCO expressed to their operators,” Riche T. McKnight, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of UFC, stated in a press release. We have added to the UFC Athlete Conduct Policy in order to clearly state that any UFC fighter is prohibited from placing bets either directly or indirectly through any third-party on any UFC matches, and even placing their own wagers.
“We also discussed the so-called “UFC Insiders” to clarify that wagering prohibitions apply to athletes’ coaches, managers and handlers as well as athletic trainers. In addition, violations of these insiders could result in sanctions against contract athletes. We have also reiterated that we expect contract athletes to come to us with any integrity-related concerns. We thank the AGCO for their cooperation, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the integrity of our sport for the benefit of our athletes and our fans.”
Just after U.S. Integrity reported that a preliminary investigation was conducted into Minner’s bout. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario then announced that they had banned all Ontario sportsbooks from taking bets on UFC fighters. The AGCO has since lifted that ban after the UFC put new rules in place regarding athletes, coaches, managers and other ‘insiders’ along with the partnership with U.S. Integrity.
“The AGCO is committed to protecting Ontario players and the integrity of its betting market,” AGCO CEO Tom Mungham said in a statement. The AGCO has created new strong rules for protecting bettors in Ontario, after single-event betting was legalized last year. We are pleased these rules are already working to strengthen the integrity of sports betting in Ontario and, as a result, of UFC competitions around the world.”
While the AGCO has reinstated UFC betting in the Canadian province, a larger investigation was already launched in relation to Minner’s head coach, James Krause, who is now at the center of a betting scandal that has led to multiple suspensions being issued as well as the UFC effectively banning the retired fighter from having any relationship with active athletes on the roster. UFC fighters cannot train or coach at Krause’s gym.
The Nevada Athletic Commission ultimately issued suspensions to Minner and Krause for failing to disclose a pre-existing condition prior to this November’s event. When the suspension was issued, Nevada deputy attorney general Joel Bekker added that there was an ongoing investigation surrounding the fight related to suspicious betting that could lead to additional violations and potential punishment handed down.
Minner was also released from the UFC.
On Tuesday, UFC flyweight Jeff Molina, who counts Krause as his head coach, was also suspended because he was allegedly “involved in some substantial way in the gaming scheme currently under ongoing investigation related to James Krause.” Molina remains on the UFC roster, but he will not be booked in any fights while the investigation is ongoing, and his suspension remains intact in the state of Nevada.
As these investigations continue, UFC will work now with U.S. Integrity to monitor any other suspicious betting activity related to the fights, fighters or “insiders” associated with the sport.
“U.S. McKnight stated that Integrity would help strengthen our best practices and apply their data intelligence expertise to identify irregular bout-level betting patterns.
” This information will inform UFC’s reaction and can be shared preemptively with sportsbooks, which can help make educated decisions about whether to halt betting on particular bout .”
The partnership begins immediately and monitoring is in place for any events that are held via 2023, as per the release.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/19/23562477/ufc-strikes-deal-hire-company-investigating-suspicious-betting-activity-related-james-krause-scandal?rand=96749
