Massachusetts Suspends Betting Events from the International Boxing Association

The decision comes after several fraught years for the association, which has been accused of fraudulent practices and lack of transparency under the leadership of its current boss, Umar Kremlev, whose controversy and infamy grew during the recent Paris Olympics over incendiary statements about two female athletes.

MGA Takes Issue with IBA’s Chequered History

Although the exact reasons for the suspensions are not exactly clear, multiple sources have reported that the MGA has taken issue with the IBA’s outward support of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

As a result, events sanctioned by the association would no longer be viable betting markets in the state and operators need to comply with the ruling effective immediately. Any outstanding wagers will be now canceled, and players refunded.

However, this outward politicizing of the association is hardly the only reason why the decision has been brought around. The MGA and other state regulators across the US had reacted mostly to cheating and match-fixing suspicions more so than what individual members of a sports body might think or stand for.

The MGA has also said that events overseen by Russian or Belarussian authorities will not be allowed. Although the move seems restrictive and the IBA does command fair clout in international boxing events, major organizations such as the IBF, WBO, WBC, and WBA stand independent from the IBA and will be allowed as viable betting markets.

“The IBA is the last international sports federation still run by a Russian citizen, and the only one to allow athletes from Russia to fight under their flag and play their national anthem,” the MGC said in a statement, debating the case, clearing indicating that it has similarly found an issue with this decision.

Politics Do Play a Part in the Decision

Ultimately, state regulators are free to do as they please when it comes to excluding individual events. For example, in Nevada, esports were long allowed on a per-event basis, because watchdogs were suspicious of the governance of competitive video gaming events.

In the case of the Bay State, though, the decision reflects a broader political and competitive context. The regulator similarly took issue with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hosted out of the United States, which originally failed to pass enough safeguards to prevent its members from betting but rectified this by introducing new rules.

In the meantime, the MGA is considering new gambling advertising regulations to ensure that operators in the market comply with a strict code of conduct that puts players’ safety first.