Fanatics Sportsbook has teamed up with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) and Signify Group to introduce a program focused on detecting sports bettors who engage in abusive or threatening behavior towards athletes, coaches, and officials on various online platforms, risking account suspension or a permanent ban.

The Bad Actor Program is set to launch with the commencement of the football season. This initiative merges Signify Group’s Threat Matrix social media monitoring tool with IC360’s ProhiBet platform to pinpoint individuals who share abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing messages targeting sports personnel.

As part of this initiative, Signify’s Threat Matrix will scrutinize public posts on platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, along with examining reported abusive direct messages from athletes and officials. Serious cases will undergo further investigation, with potential criminal activities reported to law enforcement.

Those identified through these monitoring efforts will be recorded on IC360’s ProhiBet Bad Actor platform, granting participating sportsbooks the authority to limit or deny wagering accounts.

Leading the initiative, Fanatics Sportsbook is the first legal sports betting entity to participate and will suspend or permanently close accounts involved in abusive behavior against athletes, coaches, or officials.

According to Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, the program aims to hold bettors responsible for online threats directed at sports professionals.

“This innovative initiative will ensure accountability for bettors making threats against players, coaches, and officials,” King stated. “We urge more operators to join this movement because no potential loss in sports betting justifies threatening or harassing an athlete online.”

This program is intended to establish a collaborative network across the industry that can identify recurrent offenders and prevent them from opening accounts or placing bets within participating sportsbooks.

Alongside supporting betting companies, the initiative will provide intelligence and evidence to sports leagues and teams to help them respond appropriately to threats against athletes.

Scott Sadin, Co-CEO of IC360, expressed concern over escalating online harassment and threats, which he believes are damaging the integrity of the sports betting sector.

“The rise in threats of violence and harassment towards sports figures, both in arenas and online, is increasing alarmingly and is detrimental to the integrity of the sports betting industry,” Sadin commented. “Addressing individuals identified via ProhiBet BA and Threat Matrix is essential for safeguarding athletes and other stakeholders from lasting harm.”

Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, noted that this partnership comes in response to increasing demands from sports organizations urging betting operators to take more decisive actions against online abuse.

“We commend Fanatics Sportsbook for assuming a leadership role on an issue that impacts athletes across all sports,” he added. “This sends a strong message to anyone who considers threatening, harassing, or abusing athletes online as part of fandom: it is unacceptable.”

The initiative aims to both deter abusive actions and show that online threats to athletes can be monitored, investigated, and addressed effectively.