Big Brother platform ups ante
UFC changed its policies last year to prohibit its fighters, coaches, or other employees from betting on any bouts. Now, any UFC?personnel thinking of placing a sneaky wager on their sport anyway are likely having second thoughts.
The mixed martial arts brand has just announced a partnership with ProhiBet, a wager monitoring platform co-owned by U.S. Integrity (USI) and Odds On Compliance.
ProhiBet will monitor all relevant UFC-connected personnel
According to a UFC news release, the new partnership means ProhiBet will monitor all relevant UFC-connected personnel and flag any rule-breaking betting activity. It described Prohibet as a “secure and transparent” tool to ensure sports personnel remain compliant with betting regulations.
According to UFC’s Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Riché T. McKnight, the move is intended to bolster the brand’s integrity controls, helping it “enforce” its anti-gambling policy.
Fighting talk
As reported by MMA Junkie on Wednesday, the USI has now sent UFC athletes and teams an 11-minute compliance training video in regard to updated gambling regulations and the ProhiBet platform. USI warned that ProhiBet is a “robust and comprehensive” platform with “ample access to pertinent data sets.”
With all this technology at hand, the video states, the platform will uncover “nefarious or malicious” sports betting activity and “highlight it to the appropriate parties.”
There’s no sum of money that’s worth it.”
USI went even further, stating: “There’s no sum of money that’s worth it for any impropriety related to sports betting. Reputational harm alone will cost you a career and potentially result in criminal proceedings.”
A serious issue
In its video, the USI highlighted an illicit betting ring organized by prominent MMA trainer James Krause. Sources close to the matter suggest that Krause worked for an offshore betting operation based in Costa Rica. The coach would set up accounts and take payments from bettors. He was suspended by the UFC towards the end of 2022.
In January, UFC Flyweight Jeff Molina was also suspended due to his links with Krause. The self-proclaimed “MMA gambling degenerate” trained with Krause.