Fanatics Sportsbook and Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) are teaming up on a new program intended to detect and report social media abuse related to sports wagering, with the aim of ensuring that anyone who harasses an athlete online is banned from betting.
In collaboration with data firm Signify Group, Fanatics and IC360 unveiled their Bad Actor Program on Thursday, described as “the first industry network designed to identify, alert, and prevent bad actors from creating accounts or placing wagers.”
Fanatics is the first member of the new initiative, but the companies hope to welcome other operators as well.
How will the athlete harassment program work?
From the start of the football season, IC360 will use Signify’s AI-driven Threat Matrix service to monitor for targeted abusive and threatening content in public posts across several social media platforms, including:
- TikTok
- X
- YouTube
As problematic abuse and threats towards athletes, organizations, or teams are detected, the social media accounts in question will be blacklisted on IC360’s ProhiBet Bad Actor platform. Fanatics will suspend or permanently ban customers if they are found to be guilty of such abuse.
“As online abuse continues to affect athletes in the United States and abroad, the Bad Actor Program represents an important step in safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved in legal sports betting,” said the companies in a release.
Similar principle as ProhiBet
IC360 described the program as functionally similar to its existing ProhiBet tool, which helps to ensure that athletes, coaches, trainers, officials and other individuals who should not be betting on sports are prevented from doing so. With ProhiBet, IC360 reports to sportsbooks, and those operators are able to restrict betting activity as needed.
Through the Bad Actor Program, Signify will monitor for social media messages, analyze reports of abuse from athletes, assess their severity, and escalate serious cases as needed, including potentially referring to law enforcement agencies.
Signify has previously worked with sports organizations including the NCAA to report on betting-related harassment on social media platforms. In an FAQ, IC360 cited a February NCAA survey which found that 51% of Division I men’s basketball student-athletes reported receiving social media abuse, and 46% received negative or threatening messages from someone who bet on their game.
In addition to proactive monitoring, IC360 said that sporting personnel are encouraged to report abusive direct messages, which are harder for firms like Signify to unearth.
“Threats of violence and harassment in sports at arenas and on social media are increasing at an alarming rate, undermining the integrity of the sports betting industry,” said IC360 Co-CEO Scott Sadin. “Addressing the individuals with ProhibitBA and Threat Matrix is crucial to protecting athletes and other stakeholders from serious, long-term harm.”
Other sportsbooks (and PMs?) encouraged to join
IC360 described Fanatics as “the first legal sports betting” member of the Bad Actor Program. IC360 confirmed to SBC Americas that Fanatics is the first member of any kind to join the initiative, but did not rule out other non-sportsbook entities joining.
IC360 has an existing partnership with Kalshi, for instance. An IC360 spokesperson suggested that the mechanics of the Bad Actor Program would translate to Kalshi or any other prediction market platforms that wanted to join.
In any case, Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King urged sportsbook competitors to sign up to help ensure that banned bettors cannot simply open accounts at other sportsbooks. The program will compile evidence-based reports and a list of names to be shared among other legal sports betting operators, as well as share intelligence with sports leagues and teams.
“This groundbreaking program will hold bettors accountable for threats made against players, coaches, and officials,” said King. “We encourage other operators to join the initiative because there is no sports betting potential loss that should embolden a sports betting customer to threaten or harass an athlete online.”
Last year, FanDuel said it banned a bettor who filmed himself verbally abusing Olympian Gabby Thomas in person at a track event, and BetMGM announced a zero-tolerance policy for abuse early this year, vowing to immediately suspend customer accounts where necessary.
