Ontario bans UFC betting over integrity concerns

Betting connected the UFC has been banned astatine Ontario sportsbooks owed to integrity concerns.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) connected Thursday ordered registered entities to halt offering and accepting wagering connected the UFC "due to non-compliance with AGCO's betting integrity requirements"

The AGCO, which oversees the regulated gaming manufacture successful Ontario, requires sports governing bodies to enforce codes of behaviour that see prohibitions connected betting by insiders and to person capable integrity safeguards successful spot to mitigate the hazard of match-fixing.

The AGCO said successful a merchandise announcing the determination that the "UFC does not prohibit each insiders from betting connected UFC events, which could see an athlete's coach, managers, handlers, diversion trainers, aesculapian professionals oregon different persons with entree to non-public information." ESPN has reached retired to the UFC for comment.

The AGCO said successful the merchandise that caller publicized incidents, including imaginable betting by UFC insiders and reported suspicious betting patterns connected matches, led to the determination to prohibit operators from offering betting connected the UFC.

"The Standards beryllium to support the betting nationalist and to supply the indispensable safeguards against likelihood manipulation, match-fixing and different integrity issues," Tom Mungham, registrar and CEO of AGCO, said successful the release. "This is not a determination we instrumentality lightly, knowing the popularity of UFC events successful Ontario's sports books. However, the risks of insider betting connected lawsuit and wagering integrity should beryllium highly concerning to all. It surely is to us. We volition proceed to enactment with gaming operators, the OLG, iGaming Ontario and UFC to guarantee that wagering connected UFC events meets the AGCO's Standards."

A UFC combat betwixt Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke connected Nov. 5 attracted suspicious betting patterns and has been nether probe by aggregate bodies. Multiple sportsbooks reported receiving antithetic betting involvement connected Neurdanbieke to triumph by knockout successful the archetypal circular and for the combat to past less than 2.5 rounds. The likelihood connected the combat moved dramatically successful the hours starring up to the featherweight bout successful Las Vegas, with Neurdanbieke moving from a -220 favourite to a -420 favorite.

Just 30 seconds into the fight, Minner threw a near footwear to Nuerdanbieke's assemblage and instantly grimaced and reached for his near leg. Nuerdanbieke closed successful and Minner went for different near assemblage footwear earlier Nuerdanbieke dropped Minner with a genu to the caput and finished connected the crushed with elbows. The TKO stoppage came astatine 1:07 of the archetypal round.

The Nevada State Athletic Association is readying to take disciplinary enactment against Minner for "non-disclosure connected his pre-fight aesculapian form" during a Dec. 14 meeting, according to enforcement manager of the NSAC Jeff Mullen.

Minner's manager for the Nuerdanbieke fight, James Krause, besides has been nether scrutiny by gaming regulators. On Nov. 19, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement notified the state's licensed sportsbook that they were nary longer allowed to connection betting connected immoderate combat Krause was progressive with, "including arsenic a coach, trainer, promotor oregon fighter."

"This applies to UFC matches and immoderate different sporting events [Krause] whitethorn beryllium progressive in," the bulletin to New Jersey sportsbooks, which was obtained by ESPN, stated.