Major Leagues Demand Betting Bans for Harassing Gamblers

Five professional sports leagues and their respective players associations have joined forces to demand protections for personnel facing harassment and threats from sports bettors. According to reporting from the Associated Press via Sportsnet and CityNews Toronto, the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, Major League Soccer, and the NHL sent a letter on Tuesday to gambling regulators in the District of Columbia and 35 states.

The leagues and players associations are requesting the establishment of rules to permanently revoke betting privileges for any individual found to have "abusively harassed" or threatened professional or amateur athletes, coaches, officials, or team personnel. The letter cited an "escalating threat" and noted that individuals who lose bets often direct violent threats and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families through in-person interactions and social media.

While the leagues acknowledged that legal, state-regulated sports betting has provided new ways for fans to engage, they stated that threatening the safety of participants over a bet "crosses a bright ethical and criminal line."

The letter noted that Wyoming, Louisiana, Ohio, and West Virginia already exclude "bad actors" from mobile applications and licensed sportsbooks. The leagues are now calling on state policymakers and gaming commissions to adopt uniform legislative guardrails and rules for the remaining 35 states and the District of Columbia, which have not implemented similar protections since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that allowed for the legalization of gambling.