Fanatics Sportsbook has started to permanently ban users who engage in abusive behavior towards athletes on social media. This decision is part of a new initiative focused on identifying and eliminating "bad actors" from its platform. Once identified, these users will be included in a database shared among sportsbooks, enabling them to restrict such accounts. Fanatics is monitoring user activity on platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Athletes who receive direct abusive messages can also request an investigation into those actions.
Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, stated, "The scheme 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."
To facilitate this initiative, Fanatics is collaborating with the integrity specialist and social media intelligence provider Signify Group, which will assist in identifying users who post offensive content.
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, remarked, "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."
With this program, Fanatics Sportsbook is positioning itself as the first legal sports betting member of the ‘Bad Actor Programme.’
