Congress Members Urge End to Sports Betting VIP Promos with MLB

• Three U.S. Congress members are urging the MLB and MLBPA to take action after a recent Bryce Harper video was sent to a FanDuel VIP customer who eventually lost nearly $2 million on the sportsbook platform
• The Congress members urged the MLB and MLBPA to end policies enabling athletes to participate in VIP program promotions
• Harper said he has no affiliation with FanDuel and would not have recorded the video if he had known the backstory of why the video was being sent to the user

Three U.S. Congress members are urging MLB and MLBPA to end policies enabling athletes to participate in sports betting VIP program promotions after a highly publicized incident in which a FanDuel VIP host sent a personalized video from Bryce Harper to a customer with a gaming addiction.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Reps. Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Valerie P. Foushee (D-N.C.) recently sent letters to MLB and MLBPA to end the practice of allowing professional baseball players to participate in these programs.

“We write in light of recent reporting that a personalized greeting from Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was used to target an admitted gambling addict to encourage continued betting. We write to demand an end to the MLB and MLBPA policies that enabled this type of predatory promotion.”

VIP Programs Designed to Keep Customers Gambling

NBC 10 Philadelphia published the Congress members’ letter to the MLB and MLBPA, which references a FanDuel VIP host sending a personalized Harper video to customer Terry Thompson in November 2024.

Thompson allegedly lost $1.5 million on the platform over the course of several years. Thompson received the video as part of a perk for being a member of FanDuel’s VIP sports betting program. The Inquirer received a copy of the video from Thompson’s lawyer, who filed a lawsuit against both FanDuel and DraftKings earlier this year, alleging the companies used their games and VIP programs to keep Thompson gambling despite an obvious addiction.

Harper released a public comment on the incident in July, reporting that he did not know the video would be used for a commercial purpose. He also posted the Cameo contract he received from the FanDuel rep on his personal Instagram account.

The three U.S. Congress members described VIP programs as “dangerously designed to distract bettors, including those struggling with a gambling addiction, from their financial losses and entice further destructive gambling – especially when they are attempting to quit.”

“Despite clear harms that VIP programs pose to bettors, MLB and MLBPA continue to disregard fan safety by permitting partnerships with sportsbooks operating these programs. We demand an immediate end to this policy. MLB and the MLBPA must not allow players, regardless of their level of awareness, to legitimize sportsbook VIP programs designed to exploit the most vulnerable fans,” they wrote.

Want Answers by End of August

In their letter, the three Congress members ask MLB and the MLBPA to provide answers to the following five questions by Aug. 24:

• As MLB and MLBPA renegotiate their collective bargaining agreement, what is your current position on allowing MLB players to seek endorsements and partnerships from sportsbooks? Note: The MLBPA has publicly announced their intention to seek greater freedom for players to have relationships with gambling companies.
• How will MLBA and the MLBPA guarantee that fan safety and well-being take precedence over revenue from gambling partnerships?
• Do you believe MLB and MLBPA policies on sportsbook endorsements and partnerships are adequate to prevent engagement with predatory VIP programs?
• Will the MLB and MLBPA undertake any player education to ensure that players understand the risks their participation in sportsbook promotions poses to fans?
• Will the MLB and MLBPA prohibit players from participating in personalized marketing campaigns by sportsbooks as part of VIP or tier programs?

“Despite clear harms that VIP programs pose to bettors, MLB and MLBPA continue to disregard fan safety by permitting partnerships with sportsbooks operating these programs. We demand an immediate end to this policy. MLB and the MLBPA must not allow players, regardless of their level of awareness, to legitimize sportsbook VIP programs designed to exploit the most vulnerable fans.”