The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has amended its rules and regulations to ban fighters, from betting on UFC matches.
UFC fighters will be barred from placing bets on any UFC match, including those in which they are competing. This rule applies to athletes wagering directly or through a third party.
The Championship noted that most states in the US already have a ban in place on UFC fighters, betting on official UFC matches, and that any breach of this rule, will be deemed illegal and may result in some form of criminal sanction.
In the majority of states in the US, this ban extends to 3rd parties like some or all relatives living in the same household as an athlete, as well as an athlete’s coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, medical professionals and staff, or any other person with access to non-public information regarding the UFC.
Furthermore, the UFC’s rules and regulations now states that any athlete, who becomes aware or has knowledge of any breach of its rules, should report it to the UFC immediately.
The UFC was launched in 1993, and is owned by Endeavour. In September 2021, Endeavour, which is also the owner of IMG Arena, agreed to acquire the OpenBet sports betting division from Scientific Games, which is now known as Light & Wonder.
The initial acquisition deal was worth $1.20bn (£1.08bn/€1.23bn), but this figure was reduced by $400m to $800m in July of 2022, to help speed up the process.
The deal was expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022, but this was pushed back to the end of September, though the deal is yet to be concluded.
Source: http://www.igamingbusiness.com
