Fanatics Sportsbook announced a new partnership Thursday that will help it and possibly other operators monitor for sports betting related harassment on social media.
The Bad Actor Program, established in partnership with Fanatics, Integrity Compliance 360 and Signify Group, will watch for targeted abuse of athletes, coaches and officials across social media. Those abused through private messages are also encouraged to submit those for analysis, according to the release.
The program will work similar to IC360’s ProhiBet, which helps restrict wagering by those tied to the games. The Bad Actor Program will provide a list of abusive bettors that sportsbooks can block.
While Fanatics is the first to join, the hope is that other U.S. sportsbooks and prediction market operators will join. The program will launch before the start of the football season.
Signify praises Fanatics for leadership
Many of Signify’s global sports clients have called for sportsbooks to address the problem of abuse, CEO Jonathan Hirshler said.
“We commend Fanatics Sportsbook for taking a leadership position on an issue that affects athletes across every sport,” Hirshler said. “This is a clear message to anyone who believes threatening, harassing or abusing athletes online is simply part of being a fan: it is not.”
Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, said he wants other operators to join the program and hold bettors accountable for their threats.
“We encourage other operators to join the initiative because there is no sports betting potential loss that should embolden a sports betting customer to threaten or harass an athlete online,” King added.
Sports betting abuse a hot topic
There are multiple efforts underway to curb harassment toward athletes and the staff involved in games.
One of the first big pushes came from NCAA President Charlie Baker, who has asked states to stop offering prop bets on college sports, a decision some states made from the beginning of their legal sports betting markets. Ohio was the first to make the change for a live market.
Signify Group also released a report last June about the harassment during the NCAA basketball tournaments. While abuse was overall down, harassment toward coaches, officials and the selection committee increased on the men’s side of the tournament.
In Louisiana, a new law takes effect on Aug. 1 that will mean any bettor that harasses athletes and others could be banned from betting in the state. West Virginia passed something similar in 2024.
BetMGM also announced in February that it could suspend or ban bettors for harassment under their updated policies. Last summer, FanDuel banned a bettor after video on social media showed him heckling an Olympic gold medalist sprinter at a track and field meet in Philadelphia.
