Sources: Suspended MMA coach James Krause worked with offshore sportsbook

David Purdum, ESPN

A suspended MMA coach at the center of an ongoing betting scandal in the UFC has acted as an agent for an offshore bookmaking operation for years, multiple sources who placed bets with him told ESPN.

James Krause, 36, has worked as an agent — the term for a middleman between offshore sportsbooks and bettors — for ABCBetting.ag, according to people who wagered with him as far back as 2019. The .ag domain is for sites in Antigua and Barbuda.

Krause also has publicly acknowledged being part of an online betting group that employed sophisticated tactics, including taking over other bettors’ sportsbook accounts to circumvent betting limits.

Multiple government agencies are investigating a Nov. 5 UFC fight in Las Vegas between Darrick Minner, who was coached by Krause, and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke after it was flagged for suspicious betting activity. New Jersey and New York sportsbooks, as well as offshore bookmakers, reported unusual betting interest on Minner to lose in the first round and for the fight to last fewer than 2.5 rounds. He lost by TKO just over a minute into the first round.

In the month after the fight, gambling enforcement authorities in New Jersey halted wagering on any events associated with Krause, and two Canadian jurisdictions temporarily suspended betting on the UFC. Multiple sources have told ESPN that the FBI has been collecting information and interviewing people about the fight.

Krause and Minner were suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing to disclose an injury on his prefight medical questionnaire. Jeff Molina, another fighter in Krause’s gym, was also suspended. The UFC released Minner and notified fighters who continued to train with Krause or at his gym, Glory MMA & Fitness, that they would be banned from events pending government investigations.

Until his suspension, Krause was considered a top up-and-coming coach in the sport, guiding the careers of several UFC title contenders, including UFC interim flyweight champion Brandon Moreno.

The UFC did not prohibit fighters or their teams from gambling on bouts, including those they were involved in, until October, and interviews with fighters and managers throughout the sport have indicated that betting has been widespread. Twenty-four states and Washington, D.C., have rules against athletes, coaches or related figures betting, but most of those put the burden of complying on sportsbook operators. Only four — Colorado, Michigan, Virginia and West Virginia — have penalties for the person betting, according to data compiled by Legal Sports Report, which tracks sports betting legislation.

Krause has not spoken publicly about the Minner defeat, and he did not respond to ESPN’s requests for comment.

Minner told ESPN last week that he has not been contacted by the FBI. Asked whether anything improper happened before the Nov. 5 fight, Minner said, “Absolutely not. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

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