Three members of Congress have called on Major League Baseball and its players' union to tighten rules on sportsbook promotions after a controversy involving a personalized video from Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper sent to a FanDuel VIP customer with a gambling problem.
Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee sent a letter on 10 August to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and acting players' union head Bruce Meyer. The lawmakers demanded an end to policies that allowed 'predatory promotion.'
The incident involved a 2024 video in which Harper thanked a customer named Terry Thompson for his support. According to the legislators, Thompson lost over $1.5m on the FanDuel platform. Harper said he was unaware that the operator's VIP host Bryttanni Morgan intended to use the recording for marketing and did not give consent.
The lawmakers noted that current MLB rules allow players to sign endorsement contracts with sportsbooks provided they do not encourage betting on baseball. But that does not prevent personalized content featuring players from being used to target vulnerable customers in VIP programmes.
The letter contained five questions with a 24 August deadline: MLB's position on player endorsements, whether fan safety takes priority over partnership revenue, measures against VIP programmes, player education on risks, and a ban on participation in personalized marketing to VIP customers.
The letter arrived as MLB and the union negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The union wants to expand players' freedom in partnerships with gambling companies; the legislators are pushing for the opposite.
Blumenthal has been active in advocating federal betting regulation. In March he introduced a bill on state oversight of prediction markets, including restrictions on advertising and VIP programmes. Earlier in May the three lawmakers sent similar demands to the CEOs of a dozen sportsbooks — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365 and others — over targeting of young adults.
