Arizona Dept. of Gaming Bans Fighting League From Sportsbooks After Suspicious Betting Activity

Written By Matt Boecker on May 12, 2022Last Updated on January 30, 2025

After reported foul play occurred regarding an event, the Arizona Department of Gaming has removed a fighting division from state-licensed casinos.

Paul Lavigne and David Purdum of ESPN & rsquo provided information on the incident involving the Professional Fighters League Challenger Series.

The PFL was broadcasting matches on fuboTV on April 1. FuboTV & rsquo’s social media accounts posted about the event and made it clear that it was live in order to promote it. In Grand Canyon State, Fubo Sportsbook even has a license to operate casinos.

This is a second for Karl Bennison, the former head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board andrsquo’s police department, who wrote in an internet to ESPN. He & rsquo, a well-known sportsbook, occasionally misrepresents event dates and specifics, but never the sports league or streaming service when the event is taking place.

How the incident came to light

U. S. Integrity, a business that keeps an eye on betting markets for suspicious activity, informed casinos that the fights were pre-recorded on March 25th in the days that followed.

The massive jump in betting outlines for some fights does have alerted U. S. Integrity to their findings, even though they are unable to provide much information due to the ongoing investigation.

For instance, fighter Rakim Talley defeated his opponent by moving from a – 290 favorite to – 2, 500 favorites. In his fight, Talley prevailed, and there were four other instances of enormous strange movement where the heavy favorite won.

The PFL was dropped from the gambling library by the Arizona Department of Gaming. The Professional Fighters League was eliminated from their previous occasion, according to The ADG in a statement to PlayAZ.

Meaning that you will not see any PFL events on any AZ Sportsbooks anytime soon. This is not an issue with other professional fighting leagues such as UFC or boxing events. However, this is part of the reason you won’t see betting lines on professional wrestling events on state-licensed sports betting sites in Arizona.

Fubo and PFL speak up.

This is the first time in league history that an event has been recorded and broadcast at a later time, according to PFL director Loren Mack in an interview with ESPN. Mack failed to provide an explanation for why the aforementioned celebration was taking place.

Mack added that the club did not sell gambling content to entice visitors to the April 1 battles and distanced the PFL from sportsbooks posting betting lines on the occasion.

Any sportsbooks that placed wagers on the scripted plan did so without the PFL’s knowledge or consent, Mack emailed.

PFL events are often live-streamed, and this was a one-off situation, according to Jennifer Press, senior vice president of communication for tv. Press claimed that social media marketing and other promotions were files of those used for the battles on April 1st. earlier altercations.

She even apologized for fubo’s marketing mistakes.

winning wagers halted

Some casinos haven’t cashed out winning tickets from the event due to the alleged foul play.

A spokesperson for DraftKings Sportsbook told ESPN that they noticed suspicious betting activity before U.S. Integrity sent out the notification about the possible foul play.

& ldquo, At the time, we thought the disputed event was taking place live. DraftKings removed the industry on its own initiative after observing unusual exercise on a number of battles. To determine the best course of action, we are collaborating with governmental body. & rdquo,

AP / Matt Rourke image
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Boecker, Matt

Boecker, Matt is a 2020 graduate of Northern Illinois University hailing from Chicago. Boecker specializes in coverage of sports betting and legalization. Former teammates and coworkers describe him as a nice guy who tries hard and loves the game.

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