Major Pro Sports Leagues and Players’ Unions Demand Lifetime Betting Bans for Bettors Who Threaten Athletes

Five of America’s biggest professional sports leagues and their players’ unions are calling on state gaming regulators to permanently ban bettors who harass or threaten athletes.

The joint letter, sent Tuesday, is one of the strongest coordinated efforts yet from major sports leagues to address harassment connected to the growth of regulated sports betting.

A United Front Against Bettor Harassment

The letter shows rare unity across professional sports. The NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, and NHL, along with their players’ unions, jointly contacted state gaming commissions about the issue.

The groups called bettor harassment an “escalating threat” that requires action from regulators.

According to the letter, bettors who lose money are increasingly sending threatening or abusive messages to players, coaches, and their families. Some harassment happens on social media, while other incidents take place in person.

With several major leagues joining together, the issue is no longer being treated as a problem affecting only a few athletes. Organized sports leagues are now asking regulators to take formal action.

The timing is also important. Regulated sports betting has expanded rapidly since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision opened the door for individual states to govern it.

What the Leagues Are Asking Regulators to Do About A Problem That Has Been Building

The letter includes various specific requests.

The leagues and unions want gaming commissions to require sportsbooks to issue lifetime bans to bettors found to have seriously harassed or threatened athletes, coaches, athletic staff, or their families.

The groups also want a standard reporting system across states. Sports betting rules currently vary by state, which can create differences in how harassment cases are reported and handled.

Sportsbooks are also being asked to take a more active role. The leagues want operators to monitor and flag accounts connected to abusive behavior and ban those bettors before the situation becomes more serious.

These requests would put more responsibility on both sportsbooks and the state regulators that oversee them.

Harassment linked to sports betting is not new, but athletes have become more vocal about the problem.

Players across many sports have spoken publicly about receiving threats and abusive messages from bettors after games.

Earlier this year, the Big Ten athletes commission asked the NCAA to push for limits on certain prop bets because of the harassment those wagers can create for players.

Prop bets are wagers based on an individual player’s performance. Because the result depends directly on one athlete, these bets can make players a target when a wager loses.

A player who fails to reach a certain statistical mark can receive direct abuse from bettors who lost money because of the result.

The Broader Industry Context

The letter comes at a complicated time for the relationship between professional sports and gambling.

Many of the leagues calling for stronger protections have also formed commercial partnerships with gambling companies. Teams and leagues have made deals with traditional sportsbooks as well as prediction markets, which are regulated at the federal level instead of by state gaming commissions.

This creates an unusual situation. Sports organizations are benefiting financially from gambling partnerships while also asking regulators and sportsbooks to do more to control harmful bettor behavior.

It highlights one of the biggest challenges created by the rapid growth of regulated sports betting.

What’s Next

The letter is now in the hands of state gaming commissions across the country.

Individual regulators will have to decide whether to act on the leagues’ requests. Creating a standard reporting system could be especially difficult because sports betting laws and regulations vary from state to state.

The leagues appear to believe that meaningful change will require cooperation across state lines.

How quickly regulators respond, and whether states adopt similar rules, could determine if the effort leads to major policy changes or remains a request from the leagues and players’ unions.