Ontario's gaming and alcohol oversight board has ordered casinos to stop accepting bets for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), responding to concerns about betting integrity, has told casinos, iGaming, and lottery operators across the province to stop offering and accepting bets on UFC fights.
"The Registrar’s Standards include rules to safeguard against odds manipulation, match-fixing and other sports betting integrity issues," read the AGCO order. "Operators must specifically ensure that for sporting events being bet on, the event must be effectively supervised by a sport governing body which must, at minimum, prescribe final rules and enforce codes of conduct that include prohibitions on betting by insiders; and there are integrity safeguards in place which are sufficient to mitigate the risk of match-fixing, cheat-at-play, and other illicit activity that might influence the outcome of bet upon events."
Recently, AGCO became aware of incidents in which UFC insiders may have placed bets on bouts.
The AGCO said the UFC is not subject to restrictions against betting on their events, which involve a fighter's coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, medical personnel, or people who have information not suitable for public release.
"This is not a decision we take lightly, knowing the popularity of UFC events in Ontario’s sports books," said AGCO Registrar and CEO Tom Mungham in a media release. "However, the risks of insider-betting on events and wagering integrity should be highly concerning to all. It certainly is to us. We will continue to work with gaming operators, the OLG, iGaming Ontario and UFC to ensure that wagering on UFC events meets AGCO’s Standards."
Complete information on the Registrar's standards can be found on AGCO's official website.