14.5 Million Canadians Are Now Ineligible to Bet on UFC Events Following 'Integrity Concerns'

The Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) has announced they are, effective immediately, banning all sports betting on UFC events, due to integrity concerns.

James Krause breaks down a fight on UFC pre-show.Photo byJames Krause / Twitter

Reported late last week, Alexander K. Lee of mmafighting.com wrote,

According to the AGCO statement, the decision to ban UFC wagers is due to an upholding of the “Registrar’s Standards,” which are meant to safeguard against “odds manipulation, match-fixing and other sports betting integrity issues.”

The statement listed "possible betting by UFC insiders" and "suspicious betting patterns in other jurisdictions" as reasons for the ban. All of this comes after the Nov. 05th bout, at UFC Vegas 64, between UFC fighters Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.

Minner lost in just 67 seconds after suffering a leg injury.

Leading up to the bout, betting lines shifted suspiciously in favour of Minner's opponent, Nuerdanbieke. Although the dust has yet to settle, investigators speculate links between the undisclosed injury, the odd result of the fight, and the odd betting activity.

UFC officials have denied involvement or wrongdoing, in the matter and have since cut Minner from their roster. The company has also come down hard on Minner's coach, James Krause, banning him and his fighters from participating in UFC events.

In a company-wide email sent to all fighters and coaches, UFC's Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell, released this statement,

"Fighters who choose to continue to be coached by James Krause or who continue to train in his gym will not be permitted to participate in UFC events pending the outcome of the aforementioned government investigations."

An image of the full statement was first reported by Ariel Helwani of mmafighting.com, via Twitter (seen below):

Full statement from Hunter Campbell.Photo byAriel Helwani / Twitter

The situation is a first of its kind in the company's history, and puts Krause's large roster of fighters in a precarious situation -- including UFC interim flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, who recently moved his fight camp from Tijuana, Mexico to Kansas City, Missouri to train under Krause at his gym, Glory MMA.

Although investigations are ongoing, the situation doesn't bode well for Krause, who months prior shared how he earns "more gambling on MMA than anything else I do " on Helwani's podcast, "The MMA Hour". He went on to share,

"I bet on every single card and just about every fight."

As an ex-UFC fighter, sports betting has become a significant stream of income for Krause. He shared that his earnings gambling on MMA/boxing events far surpass that of his coaching business.

When asked by Helwani if Krause bets on fights he's involved in, he responded, "Yeah."

Krause also hinted at being mentored by an undisclosed, big-name sports better who has been banned from numerous casinos for "winning too much." Krause also runs a Discord channel, in which gamblers pay a monthly fee for Krause's picks.

Although the investigation is ongoing, Krause's history of betting on his own fighters, and the fact that he stands to gain monetarily from the use of insider information, doesn't bode well for the 36-year-old retired fighter.

But, despite the ban, many of Krause's fighters are sticking with him. Most notably, UFC interim flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, posting this picture to Instagram with the caption, "Waiting for justice."

Moreno and Krause embracing after Moreno's most recent victory at UFC 277.Photo by@theassassinbaby / Instagram

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.