The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is putting the brakes on all UFC wagering “due to non-compliance with AGCO’s betting integrity requirements”. This isn’t the first time integrity concerns have popped up regarding UFC fighters, which isn’t surprising considering the MMA giant’s lax attitude towards insider betting.
While it’s unclear what specifically sparked the ban, but a November 5 fight between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke saw wild line flucluations and unusual betting patterns. Minner was knocked out in the fight but Nevada Athletic Commission is investigating the fight to see if he deliberately didn’t report an existing injury.
AGCO officials were relatively vague in their statements, due to an ongoing investigation but made it clear that insiders were being looked at saying in a recent public statement that officials, “learned of publicised alleged incidents, including possible betting by UFC insiders, as well as reports of suspicious betting patterns in other jurisdictions”.
None of this is particularly surprising given the fact that fighter and their training teams have only been barred from wagering on their fights since October 18 of this year. But perhaps word of that decision didn’t make it to Ontario, where AGCO officials said, this week, “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 Nevada Gaming Commission will be addressing this issue at their December 14 meeting, though it’s unclear what the AGCO’s next move will be. Regardless, the UFC has a serious integrity problem and should probably realize that its fighters and trainers are as susceptible fraud as anyone else.