Gamdom UFC $10K Deal Sparks Public Feud With MMA Agent Daniel Rubenstein

Gamdom's offer of $10,000 a month to every fighter on the UFC roster has found its first real opponent, and it isn't the UFC. It's an agent.

Daniel Rubenstein, owner of Las Vegas-based Ruby Sports & Entertainment, accused the crypto casino on Friday of trying to sign fighters "WITHOUT representation," tagging MMA reporters Ariel Helwani, Mike Bohn and Brett Okamoto. Within hours, a Gamdom staffer fired back that the company has "no interest in paying a middlemen who simply wants a cut of someone else's talents."

The offer that started it

Gamdom, owned by German entrepreneur Felix Romer, posted an open letter to the UFC roster on X on October 12.

"Getting punched in the face for a living should come with a guaranteed bag," the company wrote. "Gamdom is offering EVERY UFC fighter $10,000/month. No knockout bonus required."

The signed statement attached to the post says the offer "extends to the entire roster, from athletes making their UFC debut to established champions." Romer is quoted saying the initiative "is in no way an attack on the UFC or a negative reflection on its business."

The fine print matters. The letter calls it "an independent Gamdom initiative" and says sponsorships "are subject to agreed terms, applicable requirements and existing contractual obligations." Full terms have not been made public, and outlets including SPORTbible and iGaming Fox reported this week that no UFC fighter had publicly announced signing.

The post has drawn more than 1.4 million views on X. It also landed in the middle of middleweight champion Sean Strickland's public pay dispute with the promotion, as Bloody Elbow and Real Combat Media noted.

The agent's complaint

Rubenstein's post on Friday quoted Gamdom's announcement:

"This company @gamdom won't work with agencies, won't send a representation agreement to an agent and wants the fighters to enter into an agreement directly WITHOUT representation. We fight for fighters to not be taken advantage of."

Rubenstein isn't some guy with a cousin who trains BJJ. Ruby Sports & Entertainment was founded in 2016, and its website lists a UFC client roster that includes Merab Dvalishvili, Dricus Du Plessis, Petr Yan, Arman Tsarukyan, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Michael Chiesa. In a Las Vegas Review-Journal interview, Rubenstein said the agency manages about 250 athletes.

Gamdom's answer

The reply came from the account @gamdom_beekay, a Gamdom team member who posts as BeeKay and whose bio reads "Growing @Gamdom." In full:

"We live in a time where far too many people try to profit from other people's success. This has become glaringly obvious since we made our announcement, suddenly everyone has a fighter for us to sign. There might actually be a few that have genuine clients that they provide value to but we have no interest in paying a middlemen who simply wants a cut of someone else's talents.

We already work with numerous fighters who we have no paperwork with. The ones we've spoken to directly understand that, and they're excited about the opportunity. We have plenty more joining us soon!"

Gamdom did not name any of those fighters.

The receipts

Rubenstein didn't let it go. He replied with a screenshot of what he presented as his WhatsApp exchange with a Gamdom contact.

In it, Rubenstein asks how fighters can get direct deals. The other party answers that interested fighters can be given "my WhatsApp or Tg," adding: "We've been getting a ton of applications and many are from agencies who send the same people so we just want to avoid all that and only go through direct deals with fighters."

When Rubenstein asks for the agreement "so I can review first and give them my blessing to agree and sign," the reply is: "Unfortunately I cant share any info."

"That's not exactly the case," Rubenstein wrote to BeeKay. "You can see from the exchange, your man is refusing to send me an agreement to review even after asking how the fighters can get the deals direct. It's not me that's taking advantage of the fighters, it's you guys. Be professional."

Why it matters

Both sides have a point, which is what makes this messy.

Gamdom's complaint about agencies flooding its inbox with the same names is easy to believe for any brand that just offered free money to a roster that SPORTbible, citing Roster Watch, puts at around 700 active fighters. Agents also take a cut, and the replies under Rubenstein's post made clear plenty of gamblers are not shedding tears over that.

But Rubenstein didn't ask for a commission in the exchange he posted. He asked to read the contract. And Gamdom's own signed statement says the company welcomes "conversations with fighters and their representatives across the roster." Telling an agent with champions on his books that you can't share any info sits awkwardly next to that line.

Until Gamdom names a signed fighter or shows what the paperwork actually says, the $10,000 headline is still a headline.