The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will no longer take bets on the Ultimate Fighting Championships “due to concerns about non-compliance with AGCO’s betting integrity requirements” according to a news release.
A portion of the news release reads:
The Registrar’s Standards include rules to safeguard against odds manipulation, match-fixing and other sports betting integrity issues. Operators must specifically ensure that:
- For sporting events being bet on, the event must be effectively supervised by a sport governing body which must, at minimum, prescribe final rules and enforce codes of conduct that include prohibitions on betting by insiders; and
- There are integrity safeguards in place which are sufficient to mitigate the risk of match-fixing, cheat-at-play, and other illicit activity that might influence the outcome of bet upon events.
Contrary to the Registrar’s Standards, the UFC does not prohibit all insiders from betting on UFC events, which could include an athlete’s coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, medical professionals, or other persons with access to non-public information.
The ban on bets on UFC fights comes after a recent fight at the UFC Apex was examined due to betting patterns on the day of the fight. The Shayilan Nuerdanbieke-Darrick Minner fight on November 5th is under investigation due to a previously undisclosed injury on Minner’s part. Nuerdanbieke earned a first round stoppage of Minner. Notably, James Krause, Minner’s trainer came under suspicion and was not allowed to corner Miles John in a subsequent event. While Krause has not been named directly as an individual of interest in the investigation, it’s clear that his ties to gambling were thought to be an issue.
Payout Perspective:
A big statement from the province. While the ban may be limited in scope this raises eyebrows about the integrity of the sport. Even though the UFC implemented protocols preventing fighters and their team from gambling on fights, there are obvious work-arounds [highlighted by the Registrar] that could cause concern among gamblers regarding the integrity of fights. Although the ban pertains just to the UFC (and gamblers in Ontario could still gamble on MMA events) there should be concern over the safeguards to ensure that gambling on the UFC returns to Ontario.
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