Former UFC fighter and Glory MMA & Fitness coach James Krause, a subject of an ongoing betting scandal investigation, worked as an intermediate for an offshore sportsbook, according to a new report.
Per a lengthy report published Thursday by ESPN, anonymous sources claimed they placed bets through Krause, who served as an agent for ABCBetting.ag since at least 2019. The sources claimed Krause offered a line of credit and referral kickbacks, and took payments through Venmo or Paypal.
Krause, as well as two of his UFC-rostered fighters, Darrick Minner and Jeff Molina, were suspended indefinitely by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) in recent weeks after they failed to disclose an injury. Krause and Minner were suspended after a Nov. 5 bout was flagged for suspicious betting activity.
An unusual amount of bets came in on his opponent Shayilan Nuerdanbieke to finish the fight. Minner quickly appeared to injure his leg in Round 1. He was finished soon thereafter with strikes.
In the wake of the bout, multiple gaming commissions in North America halted wagering on UFC events, and multiple investigative agencies are now reportedly involved.
Minner was released from his contract, as the UFC in December banned its fighters from associating with Krause or training at his gym. Molina, who was scheduled for a Jan. 14 fight, was suspended weeks after.
Krause has yet to comment. When contacted by ESPN, Minner recently declined anything unusual happened pre-fight, though he admitted he suffered a minor knee injury prior to the fight. He declined to comment on Krause’s potential involvement with the sportsbooks.
Prior to the implementation of anti-wagering language in the UFC’s fighter code of conduct, which was edited in October, Krause admitted to betting on fights, even those he was involved in (per The MMA Hour). Krause mentioned he took over other bettors’ accounts, seen as a potential method to evade betting limits.
Krause branded a podcast “1% Club,” which discussed picks, predictions and bets. He had a “1% Club” subscription-based chat group on the social platform Discord. According to the report Thursday, Molina was part of the Discord and encouraged others to join.
“He’s trained w/ a lot of the fighters, lives and breathes this sport as a coach/fighter, & at times has the scoop on injuries — non-announced matchups — how fighters look like in camp, etc.,” Molina reportedly wrote in the group. “In stocks, this is called insider trading, in MMA betting it’s called James Krause. For the last 6 months, all my bills including mortgage and car note have been paid via Krause’s picks. Do yourself a favor and join the VIP.”
The NAC has its next batch of hearings set for a monthly meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas. Molina, as well as an unnamed “confidential respondent,” are listed on the agenda.
