What once began as a way of determining the most effective martial art has now become an incredibly entertaining and accessible sport for all.

The world’s leading MMA organisation, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been staging events since 1993, and MMA is no longer a battle of styles. With stars at the top of the sport including the likes of Conor McGregor, the UFC (and MMA) has attracted new fans and gained plenty of attention. In spite of all of this, the sport is still relatively new compared to football, baseball, cricket, and other sports that have been around forever. For bettors, this means there is plenty of room to read the market and make smart decisions.

Because the UFC (and MMA) is still experiencing growing pains, the sport can be more inconsistent than others. Leading organisations are still experimenting with booking genuinely competitive fights and “super fights” that are purely formed for commercial purposes. For example, a regional basketball team isn’t going to compete against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. However, inexperienced martial artists are sometimes thrown to the wolves, and this can create exciting betting opportunities.

Bitcoin Sportsbooks’ MMA betting guide looks at the main aspects of betting on UFC, Bellator and other major MMA organisations. We explain where UFC betting is legal, what that means if you hold Bitcoin, and how the most common fight bets work.

 

How to Bet on UFC With Bitcoin

Betting on the UFC doesn’t need to be difficult, but it does need to be legal where you live. Fight cards are global, with events in Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, London and Sydney, while betting laws are national, and in the US they are set state by state. The sportsbook you use has to hold a licence from the regulator in the country or state where you are when you place the bet.

When it comes to choosing where to bet on UFC and other MMA organisations, that licence matters more than any other feature. It is what gives you a complaints route, protection for your deposits and access to self-exclusion schemes.

We look at licensing first, then the depth of fight markets, the quality of the odds and how clearly a sportsbook explains its rules for things like cancelled bouts and late replacements.

Many crypto sportsbooks advertise quick sign-ups with no identity checks and no questions about where you are. Those are the sites we do not recommend. Licensed operators in regulated markets are legally required to confirm your age and identity, and to check where your money comes from, as part of anti-money-laundering rules. A site that skips those checks is almost always one that holds no licence where you live, which leaves you with nowhere to turn if a payout is refused.

Bitcoin itself is a different matter from the sportsbooks that take it. If you want to understand how Bitcoin works, our introduction covers wallets, exchanges and fees. For betting, though, most licensed sportsbooks work in the local currency, so the usual route is to sell crypto on a regulated exchange and deposit the proceeds by card, bank transfer or e-wallet.

UFC Bitcoin Betting by Country

United States: sports betting is legal only in states that have licensed it, with operators that state approves, such as those regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Licensed US books work in dollars. Offshore crypto books are not licensed in any state.

United Kingdom: only operators licensed by the Gambling Commission may take bets from British customers. You can look up any operator, and the exact activities its licence covers, on the Gambling Commission public register.

Elsewhere: check the national gambling regulator in your own country. Many EU states license operators nationally; in Malta, for example, the MGA licensee register lists who holds a Maltese licence. A licence from one country does not make a sportsbook legal in another, and a Curaçao or Anjouan licence is no substitute for a licence where you live.

MMA and UFC Bets Explained

Fight betting has its own vocabulary:

• Moneyline: who wins the bout. If the fight is declared a draw or no contest, check the sportsbook’s rules for how the bet is settled.
• Method of victory: whether a fighter wins by knockout, submission or decision.
• Round betting: the exact round in which the fight ends, which pays more because it is harder to call.
• Total rounds: over or under a set number, such as 2.5 rounds in a three-round fight.
• Goes the distance: a simple yes or no on whether the judges decide the result.

Short-notice replacements and weight-cut problems are common in MMA, and they can change a fight completely. Read a sportsbook’s rules on changed opponents before you bet early.

UFC Betting With Bitcoin: Age Limits and Support

You must be at least 18 to bet in the UK and in most countries that license sports betting, and older in some: in most US states the minimum age is 21. Never bet with money you need for other things, and use the deposit limits and time-outs that licensed operators provide.

If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, Gambling Therapy offers free, confidential support online in several languages, wherever you live. In the US you can call or text 1-800-MY-RESET, the National Problem Gambling Helpline. In Great Britain, GAMSTOP lets you exclude yourself from every licensed gambling website at once.

References

• UK Gambling Commission, public register
• Malta Gaming Authority, licensee register
• New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
• Gambling Therapy
• National Council on Problem Gambling, National Problem Gambling Helpline
• GAMSTOP