Fanatics Sportsbook will become the first U.S. operator to take action against the online abuse of athletes, coaches, and officials this fall.
Key Takeaways
- Beginning this football season, users could see their accounts suspended or banned for online abuse.
- Fanatics is the first operator to use ProhiBet’s social media harassment product, Bad Actor.
- Other sportsbooks are reportedly looking into this technology.
The sports betting operator announced a partnership Thursday with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) to use its ProhiBet Bad Actor product to identify customers who are sending threatening messages to game participants.
Beginning this football season, users found to have engaged in social media abuse on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube could see their Fanatics Sportsbook accounts suspended or banned.
“This groundbreaking program will hold bettors accountable for threats made against players, coaches, and officials,” Fanatics betting and gaming CEO Matt King said in a press release. “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.”
Other operators are also discussing ProhiBet’s Bad Actor program, according to ESPN.
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No-tolerance policy
IC360 is collaborating with science data company Signify Group, which will infuse its Threat Matrix technology into ProhiBet’s Bad Actor platform to detect and investigate evidence of social media abuse.
Individuals are then placed in a database, where Fanatics, or any other sports betting company that opts in to the technology, can access anonymized information on violators from ProhiBet. The operator can then identify matching users and take action against their accounts without personal information being shared between operators.
Fanatics says it has a “zero-tolerance policy” for bettors, and added that “if it is determined that they have engaged in abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing conduct of any kind,” the customer will lose account access. Law enforcement could be notified if the behavior crosses criminal thresholds.
“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 Scott Sadin, co-CEO of IC360. “Addressing the individuals with ProhiBet BA and Threat Matrix is crucial to protecting athletes and other stakeholders from serious, long-term harm.”
History of harassment
IC360’s program will share its intelligence with sports leagues and teams of targeted athletes. Fanatics hopes that Bad Actor will serve as a deterrent for online abuse to improve players’ mental health and relationship with fans.
Harassment of college athletes has been a central concern in the NCAA's approach to sports betting for years. The governing body reported in 2025 that 7% of Division I men’s athletes said they received negative or threatening messages from sports bettors over the previous year.
Another NCAA study found 46% of men’s basketball players reported being abused on social media by bettors who wagered on their games. NCAA president Charlie Baker petitioned state lawmakers and gaming commissions across the U.S. in 2024 to prohibit sportsbooks from offering college player props to help reduce harassment.
“We commend Fanatics Sportsbook for taking a leadership position on an issue that affects athletes across every sport,” Signify Group CEO Jonathan Hirshler said. “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. 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. Working together with Fanatics Sportsbook and IC360, we’re glad to be able to offer that.”
