Fanatics Sportsbook is set to suspend or permanently ban customers who direct abuse or threats at athletes, coaches, and officials across social media platforms.
The crackdown will begin with the 2026 NFL season, marking a significant escalation in how sportsbooks respond to online harassment linked to betting.
Fanatics will partner with integrity specialist IC360 and social media intelligence provider Signify Group to identify customers posting abusive or threatening content online.
Individuals flagged as bad actors will be added to a shared database, allowing participating sportsbooks to suspend or restrict accounts accordingly.
Fanatics Sportsbook has become the first legal sports betting member of the newly established Bad Actor Programme.
The initiative combines Signify’s Threat Matrix social media monitoring platform with IC360’s ProhiBet system to flag offending consumers.
Monitoring will cover public activity across X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, and athletes can also submit abusive direct messages for investigation.
Sports leagues and teams are also invited to join the scheme, with Signify already providing social media protection services to various sports organisations globally.
In the most serious cases, abuse and threats could be referred to law enforcement, adding a significant legal dimension to the programme.
Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, said: “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.”
King further urged the wider industry to act, stating: “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.”
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, noted that demand for this type of intervention had been building for some time across global sports organisations.
Hirshler added: “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.”
The programme represents one of the most concrete steps taken by a major sportsbook operator to directly address the growing problem of betting-related athlete harassment online.
