On March 16, 2026, Fanatics Betting and Gaming announced the appointment of Alex Smith as Chief Legal Officer to lead legal, regulatory, compliance, and government affairs...
Fanatics to block bettors over online abuse of athletes
Fanatics has announced that it plans to start suspending or banning bettors who harass athletes and coaches on social media platforms as part of an initiative targeted at reducing online abuse.
The sportsbook will collaborate with IC360 and Signify Group from the beginning of the 2026 NFL season to monitor and find abusive or threatening publications with the help of the ProhiBet Bad Actor platform and the Threat Matrix service. Activity on X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook will be continuously tracked, while athletes will be further able to submit their own reports of abusive messages directly to the platform.
The CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, Matt King, commented:
“This groundbreaking program will hold bettors accountable for threats made against players, coaches, and officials. It falls in line with our core values at Fanatics – respect and tolerance for the athletes and coaches that play the games that we love. 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.”
Fanatics has shared that it will take a zero-tolerance policy, immediately suspending or blocking accounts that are found in violation of integrity standards.
CEO of Signify Group, Jonathan Hirshler, added:
“Over the last few years, many of our global sports clients have been calling for betting and gaming operators to tackle this growing problem head-on. This is a clear message to anyone who believes threatening, harassing, or abusing athletes online is simply part of being a fan: it is not.”
In more serious cases, the platform will report the incidents to law enforcement.
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