The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) told federal lawmakers that it would support a ban on personalized athlete marketing for sportsbook VIP programs, a response that arrives as Congress examines how a video recorded by Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper ended up in the hands of a FanDuel customer with a gambling addiction.
Harper recorded the 21-second clip in 2024 through the celebrity messaging platform Cameo. A FanDuel VIP host then sent it to Terry Thompson, a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania resident who had lost $1.5 million wagering through the operator. Harper has said he had no knowledge that FanDuel planned to use the video as a reward for a customer struggling with gambling addiction.
A lawsuit the nonprofit Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March against FanDuel and DraftKings states that Thompson considered suicide earlier this year rather than disclose the extent of his losses to his family. The suit alleges both operators had extended him VIP perks.
Lawmakers demand corrective action
News coverage of the case prompted US Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and US Reps. Paul D. Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Valerie P. Foushee (D-N.C.) to send letters August 10 to MLB, the players union and FanDuel, calling on each to take corrective action.
The lawmakers described FanDuel’s VIP program as predatory and asked the company to end it. They also called on MLB and the MLBPA to bar players from all promotional work for gambling companies, characterizing the absence of such a policy as a systemic failure “rooted in the deep enmeshment between leagues, teams, and sports books.”
MLBPA outlines its position
Jeffrey Perconte, MLBPA general counsel, responded in a letter that the union is prepared to add a VIP-marketing restriction to the collective bargaining agreement now being negotiated with MLB.
He noted the current agreement, which runs through December, already permits players to appear in ads or make personal appearances for casinos, racetracks or sportsbooks provided they do not encourage betting on baseball itself.
That framework, he wrote, represents “a good-faith effort to allow responsible betting-related promotional activity,” though he acknowledged it does not directly address VIP-style programs of the kind lawmakers described. Perconte said the union is ready to submit proposals to close that gap.
FanDuel outlines its safeguards
FanDuel replied to lawmakers in a letter of its own, saying it offers bettors tools to cap how much and how often they wager and reviews a customer’s betting history before granting VIP status.
Cory Fox, a senior vice president at the operator, said VIP account managers are salaried employees, meaning their compensation is not tied to how much their customers wager or the results of those customers’ wagering activities.
FanDuel’s response, posted online by the outlet Sports Betting Dime, did not address whether VIP staff had sent similar personalized videos featuring other athletes or public figures to customers.
The financial ties behind the marketing
Sportsbook partnerships have multiplied across professional sports since the US Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling gave states authority to legalize sports wagering.
Perconte’s letter disclosed that 15 of MLB’s 30 franchises now hold sponsorship or partnership deals with betting operators, and that ownership groups for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers have taken seed-investor stakes in FutureSports, a newly announced prediction-market trading platform.
A stalled proposal on player prop bets
The union has also proposed that MLB join it in banning proposition bets and event contracts tied to individual player performance, arguing those markets are linked to higher rates of problem gambling and to players and their families facing harassment from bettors.
Perconte wrote that MLB has rejected the idea so far but that the union intends to keep pursuing it.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are drafting legislation to restrict or eliminate sportsbook VIP programs and in-game microbetting. Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance — whose members include FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, bet365 and Fanatics — said the trade group intends to oppose that effort.
Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, which regulates casino, online gambling and sports wagering activity in the state, said it is reviewing the Harper video as well.