SouthernWorldwide.com – The proliferation of legalized sports betting has unfortunately coincided with an increase in online abuse directed at athletes, a challenge they frequently face in their daily professional lives.
Fanatics Sportsbook, now recognized as the fastest-growing sportsbook in the United States, is taking proactive steps to combat this pervasive social media abuse through a significant partnership announced on Thursday.
Fanatics Sportsbook has joined forces with Integrity Compliance 360, Inc. (IC360) and Signify Group to launch the Bad Actor Program. This initiative is specifically designed to curb the escalating hostility and threats targeted at athletes across various social media platforms.
This crucial measure, aimed at protecting the well-being of all individuals involved in legalized sports betting, is set to commence with the start of the U.S. football season, beginning with college football in late August.
IC360 will work in conjunction with Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service to monitor for abusive and threatening content directed at athletes across multiple social media channels. When problematic abuse or threats against athletes, organizations, or teams are identified, the individuals responsible for these accounts will be enrolled in IC360’s ProhiBet Bad Actor program.
This program operates similarly to IC360’s existing ProhiBet platform, which assists in restricting wagering by athletes, coaches, and trainers. The new Bad Actor program will empower sportsbooks to prohibit wagering by individuals who engage in threatening behavior towards athletes and coaches.
“This groundbreaking program will hold bettors accountable for threats made against players, coaches, and officials,” stated Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming. “It aligns with our fundamental values at Fanatics – respect and tolerance for the athletes and coaches involved in the sports we love. We urge other operators to join this initiative, as no potential loss from sports betting should ever justify a customer threatening or harassing an athlete online.”
Furthermore, as part of Threat Matrix’s ongoing monitoring of global sports competitions, athletes and officials will be encouraged to report any abusive direct messages they receive to expedite the detection process. Upon submission, Signify will analyze these reports, assess the severity of the messages, and escalate serious cases to their in-house specialists for thorough investigation. If the behavior escalates to a criminal level, appropriate law enforcement agencies will be contacted.
Fanatics Sportsbook also reserves the right to suspend or permanently terminate a customer’s account if it is determined that they have engaged in any form of abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing conduct towards sports officials, players, or coaches. The sportsbook maintains a zero-tolerance policy for bettors who exhibit threatening behavior, and the Bad Actor program further reinforces this core company principle.
“Threats of violence and harassment in sports, whether at arenas or on social media, are increasing at an alarming rate and undermining the integrity of the sports betting industry,” commented Scott Sadin, co-CEO of IC360. “Addressing individuals through ProhiBet Bad Actor and Threat Matrix is essential to safeguarding athletes and other stakeholders from serious, long-term harm.”
Numerous athletes have publicly shared instances of receiving threatening messages, vulgar language, and other forms of abuse from sports bettors. Arthur Bouquier, who was ranked 219th in the world in men’s tennis at the time, recounted a disturbing message he received in 2025 from a bettor who had lost a wager, stating, “I will come after you.”
The message to Bouquier read, “French tennis is so mediocre right now that French players stick to playing at home to avoid embarrassment abroad. Let me remind you that you don’t achieve much when you leave France – it shows the limits of your tennis game.”
“I swear, if you lose, I will never forgive you. I will track you and your family down just to hurt you, even if it means going to prison. Might as well, because if I lose these 2000 euros, I’ll be on the streets, so my life won’t make sense anymore – I might as well spend my days in prison.”
Fanatics Sportsbook anticipates that the Bad Actor program will serve as a deterrent and a means of punishing offenders of online abuse, while also assuring those in the sports world that their actions can be identified and appropriately dealt with.
As Matt King emphasized, Fanatics Sportsbook hopes that the broader sports betting industry will adopt similar measures to uphold the integrity of an industry that continues to experience significant evolution.
