Ontario has reinstated betting on UFC events following the UFC’s partnership with US Integrity, a company that uses technology to help protect against betting fraud and corruption. It was US Integrity that first flagged compliance problems within the UFC to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) in December 2022.
This led to the AGCO halting UFC betting among registered gambling operators in the province. The AGCO Registrar said there had been breaches regarding its safeguarding against odds manipulation, match-fixing and other sports integrity issues.
The Commission has now said the UFC has sufficiently ‘updated its policies and procedures’ to meet the level of compliance required by Ontario.
The changes made by operators include an amendment to UFC’s athlete conduct policy which will prohibit insiders from placing any wagers on any match. ‘Insiders’ are defined as athletes, coaches, managers, medical professionals, handlers, athletic trainers, or other people with access to non-public information.
The reinstatement of UFC wagering in Ontario comes ahead of the MMA’s first pay-per-view event of 2023 – the UFC 283. This event is scheduled to take place this Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.
UFC Executive VP and general counsel Riché T. McKnight commented: “We have made enhancements to our UFC Athlete Conduct Policy to more clearly express the prohibition against any UFC athlete from placing any wagers directly or through a third party on any UFC match, including placing wagers on themselves.
"Violations by these insiders may result in disciplinary action against related contract athletes. Finally, we have reiterated our expectation that our contract athletes will come to us to report any matters that might raise integrity concerns.”
