Fanatics Sportsbook has partnered with Integrity Compliance 360, Inc. (IC360) and Signify Group to establish the Bad Actor Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative that will monitor social media platforms for threats and abuse directed at athletes, coaches, and officials — and restrict the wagering rights of those who cross the line. The program is set to launch at the start of the college football season in late August, making Fanatics the first major U.S. sportsbook to tie a bettor's account status directly to their off-platform conduct.
How the Bad Actor Program Works
IC360 will collaborate with Signify Group's Threat Matrix service to scan multiple social platforms for targeted abusive and threatening content. When problematic behavior is detected, the individuals behind those accounts will be entered into IC360's ProhiBet Bad Actor program — the same underlying framework IC360 uses to restrict wagering by athletes, coaches, and trainers. From there, participating sportsbooks gain the ability to limit or fully revoke wagering privileges for identified offenders.
Athletes and officials will be encouraged to report abusive direct messages directly to the system to accelerate the review process. Signify will assess the severity of each submission, escalating serious cases to in-house specialists. Where behavior crosses a criminal threshold, the relevant law enforcement agencies will be contacted.
Fanatics Sportsbook will independently enforce account suspensions or permanent terminations for any customer found to have engaged in abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing conduct toward players, coaches, or officials.
The Industry Problem Driving the Initiative
The growth of legalized sports betting in the United States has coincided with a documented rise in online abuse directed at athletes. The case of Arthur Bouquier, ranked No. 219 in men's singles at the time, became a widely cited example after he revealed in 2025 that a bettor who had wagered 2,000 euros on his match threatened to track down him and his family if he lost.
Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, framed the program as an extension of core company values, arguing that no potential betting loss justifies threats or harassment against an athlete. Scott Sadin, co-CEO of IC360, said threats of violence and harassment in sports are increasing at an alarming rate and that addressing bad actors directly is critical to protecting athletes from serious, long-term harm.
A Call for Industry-Wide Adoption
Fanatics, which positions itself as the fastest-growing sportsbook in the United States, is explicitly calling on competing operators to join the initiative. The ask reflects a broader integrity argument: that abusive bettor behavior, left unchecked, poses reputational and regulatory risk to the entire legal sports wagering market — not just to individual platforms.
Whether competing sportsbooks follow Fanatics into the Bad Actor Program will be a key test of whether the industry can coordinate on conduct standards before regulators are compelled to impose them.