The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement isn’t risking being choked out.
The authority has taken proactive steps in light of the recent “suspicious” betting activity ESPN first reported in a Nov. 5 bout between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.
The DGE, as a result of the ongoing investigation, is now prohibiting the state’s sports betting operators from taking any action on UFC fights that involve James Krause, who is Minner’s coach.
To nutshell: Leading up to the featherweight fight, numerous sportsbooks in numerous states reported suspicious wagering activity to the Las Vegas-based monitoring firm U.S. Integrity. What was suspicious? Nuerdanbieke’s odds to win going from -220 to -420 in the hours leading up to the fight, ESPN reported. Additionally, Nuerdanbieke’s odds to win inside the distance, by knockout, and in the first round all moved dramatically as money poured in on the favorite. And money kept pouring in even as the odds became less and less favorable to Nuerdanbieke bettors.
As to the “why?” of all the money coming in on Nuerdanbieke? Rumors were rampant that Minner had a bum knee and was going to be a sitting duck for Nuerdanbieke.
Some 30 seconds into the fight, Minner attempted a kick, was in clear pain, and some 30 seconds later Nuerdanbieke had finished him after a knee to the head and a flurry of elbows. The fight was stopped at the 1:07 mark.
“The information that was sent across was really, really strong,” Matthew Holt, the president of U.S. Integrity, told Sports Handle. “It’s been rare that we have incidents involving UFC. This was very abnormal.”
So where does Krause fit into all this?
The former fighter, now coach, has not been shy about his own gambling, saying on the MMA Hour podcast in August that he makes “more money gambling on MMA than I do anything else.”
James Krause says he makes more on gambling on MMA than anything else.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/jfW4qJar6E
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 1, 2022
If that sounds like a recipe for disaster, well … you’re not the only one who thinks so, as the UFC recently banned its fighters, coaches, and family members from betting on UFC fights.
Seems like a bad idea
The timeline: late-August, Krause retires from the Octagon and tells the world how much he makes betting UFC fights; Oct. 17, the UFC updates its Athlete Conduct Policy to prohibit fighters and coaches from betting on UFC fights; Nov. 5, there’s a screwy fight that Krause is involved in.
Yikes.
Things took another turn before the UFC’s most recent card on Nov. 19, when Krause — a day before the event — was yanked from the corner of his fighter, Miles Johns. The UFC suspended him as the investigation into the Minner fight continues.
I think Miles Johns just suggested that James Krause got suspended: "My coach last night at the dinner table got pulled and they said the UFC was suspending him" #UFCVegas65 pic.twitter.com/22iS0EAJlR
— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) November 19, 2022
Within 24 hours of Krause getting suspended from the UFC, David Purdum of ESPN reported the New Jersey DGE told the state’s sportsbooks they couldn’t take any bets on any fight Krause is involved in, period, full stop.
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement notified the state’s sportsbooks today that they are prohibited from taking bets on fights that James Krause is involved in “as a coach, trainer, promoter or fighter.”
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) November 20, 2022
To be clear: Krause has not been accused of any wrongdoing in any of this, and it would appear that the UFC — in changing its policy on people connected to the league placing bets — has learned its lesson.
It seems kind of insane the UFC wasn’t a bit more, shall we say, “smart” when it comes to all of this. Allowing anyone associated with the UFC to bet on the UFC was just so obviously a bad idea. And this wasn’t under-the-table stuff; not only did Krause boast of his bets this summer, he wasn’t the first to do so.
Justin Jaynes bet his entire purse on himself in his farewell fight in the UFC last year, and current middleweight Derrick Brunson has not been shy about his forays into legalized betting.
Vegas hating . 209 !!!! Let’s get this money . Stockton slap 👋🏾 #UFC279 pic.twitter.com/F6IQruT4Tj
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) September 8, 2022
The risk of bad betting behavior in one-on-one sports is obviously higher than in team sports. (See: Tennis.) It’s easy for a fighter (or a tennis player) to mess with the outcome of a match, much harder for a shortstop or a free safety. The UFC allowing its competitors and hangers-on to wager on events within the UFC was a lousy idea from the start, and it’s a good thing it’s over.
As for Krause himself? Well, here’s hoping the investigation into Krause yields a big nothingburger, and it was just a little “loose lips” situation on someone’s part and not some nefarious plot.
Photo: Jason Da Silva/USA TODAY
