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The rise of legalized sports betting has led to a rise of online abuse that athletes have had to deal with while trying to perform on a daily basis in their respective sports.
Fanatics Sportsbook, which has become the fastest-growing sportsbook in the United States, is trying to combat that social media abuse with a groundbreaking partnership announced on Thursday.
Fanatics Sportsbook has partnered with Integrity Compliance 360, Inc. (IC360) and Signify Group to establish the Bad Actor Program, designed to tame online hostility toward athletes, which is ever-increasing across social platforms.
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A team member stands inside the Fanatics Sportsbook at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 14, 2025. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
This important step in safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved in legalized sports betting will begin at the start of football season in the U.S., which comes at the start of college football in late August.
IC360 will collaborate with Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service to monitor for targeted abusive and threatening content across multiple social platforms. If problematic abuse and threats toward athletes, organizations and teams are detected, those individuals behind the accounts will be placed into IC360’s ProhiBet Bad Actor program.
It’s a similar platform as IC360’s ProhiBet, which helps restrict wagering by athletes, coaches and trainers. The Bad Actor program will provide sportsbooks with the ability to restrict wagering by those who are threatening athletes and coaches.
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“This groundbreaking program will hold bettors accountable for threats made against players, coaches, and officials,” Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, said in a statement. “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.”
Also, as part of Threat Matrix’s monitoring of global sports competitions, athletes and officials will be encouraged to report abusive direct messages to expedite the process. Once submitted, Signify will analyze reports, assess the severity of the messages and escalate serious cases to its in-house specialists for detailed investigation. And if behavior crosses to a criminal threshold, the proper law enforcement agencies will be contacted.
Fanatics Sportsbook will also be suspending or permanently terminating a customer’s account if it is determine they have engaged in abusive, threatening, defamatory or harassing conduct of any kind toward sports officials, players or coaches. As the sportsbook enforces a zero-tolerance policy for bettors who engage in threatening conduct, the Bad Actor program only escalates that key pillar of the company.
The Fanatics Sportsbook app is displayed on a smartphone in New Hyde Park, N.Y., on Sept. 17, 2025. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“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,” Scott Sadin, co-CEO of IC360, said in a statement. “Addressing the individuals with ProhiBet Bad and Threat Matrix is crucial to protecting athletes and other stakeholders from serious, long-term harm.”
Too many times athletes have come forward, sharing their direct messages where sports bettors have sent threats, used vulgar language and much more. Arthur Bouquier, who was the No. 219-ranked men’s tennis player in the world at the time, revealed a scary message he received in 2025, where a bettor who lost his wager, “I will come after you.”
“French tennis is so mediocre right now that French players stick to playing at home to avoid embarrassment abroad,” the message to Bouquier read. “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.”
The Fanatics Sportsbook logo appears on a smartphone in New Hyde Park, N.Y., on Sept. 17, 2025. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Fanatics Sportsbook hopes the Bad Actor program helps deter and punish abusive online offenders, while showing those involved in the sports world that they can identify those who cross the line and deal with them accordingly.
As King said, Fanatics Sportsbook hopes the rest of the sports betting world follows suit to maintain the integrity of an industry that continues to evolve.
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