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After the Nevada State Athletic Commission discovered suspicious betting patterns leading up to a Nov. 5, fight involving Darrick Minner and Shayilan nuerdanbieke (who won by first round TKO stoppage), the commission suspended James Krause’s license.
ESPN’s David Purdum has now reported that Krause was a middleman between bettors and offshore sportsbooks.
According to those who have wagered with him since 2019, James Krause (36) has been an agent for ABCBetting.ag. This is the term used for middlemen between bettors and offshore sportsbooks. The domain.ag is only for Antigua or Barbuda sites.
“Krause has also publicly admitted to being part of an internet betting group which used sophisticated strategies, such as taking over bettors’ accounts at sportsbooks in order to bypass betting limits.
Marc Raimondi of ESPN reports that a lot was bet on Nuerdanbieke to win the first round knockout. The fight was to conclude before the third round, as per U.S. Integrity.
Minner was injured before the fight, and Minner suffered a leg injury after he threw a kick to his left leg in round one. Nuerdanbieke capitalized on the situation to finish his opponent at 1:17 with elbow strikes.
UFC stated that they had no information to suggest that any of the fighters involved or anybody associated with them were involved in wrongdoing.
Many bettors spoke anonymously to Purdum about Krause’s involvement in offshore betting.
ESPN reported that bettors claimed they placed wagers with Krause. They said he gave them a line credit as well as login details. According to them, the wagers were placed on the website and Krause was paid directly. ESPN reported that Krause placed wagers using Venmo and PayPal.
ESPN reported that he asked me whether I would like to place a bet and then gave me my username and password. “I believe I won about a few hundred dollars, but I lost the game.”
Krause allegedly also told bettors that he would pay kickbacks to them if they refer anyone.
Krause had a previous subscription service, 1% Club Discord. Here Krause shared his MMA betting tips. Three weeks following the Nuerdanbieke–Minner controversy, 1% Club Discord was closed.
During his professional MMA career Krause was 28-8. He retired in October 2020. Two-time Fight of the Night champion fought at the welterweight.
Krause coached fighters in Lee’s Summit’s Glory MMA and Fitness. His most prominent client was Interim UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno. Since then, he has sold the gym’s ownership. UFC also stated that Krause’s continued work would result in him being banned from the promotion.
Purdum reports that Krause didn’t respond to any requests for comment and hasn’t spoken out publicly about the subject.
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