ESPN has reported that suspended MMA trainer James Krause has acted as an agent for an offshore bookmaking operation since 2019.
The 36-year-old allegedly worked for ABCBetting.ag, an illegal sportsbook that is based in Costa Rica. Offshore operations are not permitted in the United States, though some get around the law by using VPNs to make bets that hide their locations.
Krause has been unapologetic about his association with gambling sites. He has admitted to working with an online betting company that did unethical business practices, such as using tactics to get around betting limits.
Krause was also the host of a betting podcast called The 1% Club and boasted about his involvement with sports betting.
“I make more money on gambling than I do anything else,” he said.
Those activities were supposed to come to an end in October when the UFC implemented a policy that forbade anyone associated with MMA to make wagers on fights.
But Krause still found himself in the middle of a sports betting controversy. On Nov. 5 his fighter, Darrick Minner, suffered a TKO in the first round of his bout with Shayilan Neurdanbieke.
Before the fight a heavy amount of money was wagered on Neurdanbieke to win, as well as the fight not lasting 2.5 rounds.
It was later revealed that Minner had an injury that neither he nor Krause reported to officials. The betting activity was flagged and New Jersey and New York sportsbooks said there were unusual betting patterns.
US Integrity was brought in to investigate the fight and two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Ontario, suspended taking wagers on UFC events. Alberta has since lifted the ban.
Krause and Minner are also reportedly under investigation by the FBI, according to an ESPN story. The two remain suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for failing to disclose the injury on a pre-fight questionnaire.
The UFC has cut ties with Minner and told other fighters that train at Krause’s gym that they would not be allowed to fight in any UFC events.
While Krause has not commented on the controversy, Minner told ESPN that nothing improper happened before the fight.
“Absolutely not. Nothing out of the ordinary.” He said.
Another fighter caught up in the controversy is flyweight Jeff Molina. Joel Bekker said last Tuesday at the NSAC meeting that Molina is suspected of “substantial involvement” in a betting scheme that also ensnared Krause, who was Molina’s coach.
The NSAC has suspended Molina from any fights in Nevada. The UFC made the suspension applicable to any UFC fight. The same suspension was handed down to Krause.
“UFC’s Athlete Code of Conduct strictly prohibits fighters and members of their teams from wagering on UFC events, and UFC will take all necessary action to enforce that policy. UFC remains committed to cooperating with the appropriate authorities while this matter is being investigated,” the MMA organization said in a statement.
The extent of Molina’s involvement with Krause is not known, but he once described himself on Twitter as an “MMA gambling degenerate” and often posted screenshots of betting slips online.” He did say that he was suspended because of betting on the UFC.
