Leagues, unions urge action against escalating threats from bettors

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  David PurdumSep 15, 2026, 11:26 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPN in 2014
  • Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008

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The five largest American professional sports leagues and their players' unions are urging state gambling regulators to combat escalating harassment and violent threats from sports bettors.

The NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, Major League Soccer and their respective players' unions on Tuesday sent a letter to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia, proposing a lifetime ban from legal sportsbooks for individuals who harass or threaten professional or amateur athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel or their families.

The leagues and unions want states to establish a streamlined reporting mechanism, allowing evidence of threats to be transmitted to regulators and law enforcement. Anyone found to have violated the policy would be placed on a sportsbook exclusion list shared among states.

"Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in-person interactions," the leagues' letter states. "Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal line, and it is entirely unacceptable."

Last May, pitcher Lance McCullers, then with the Houston Astros, said he received threats on social media to "find my kids and murder them" after a rough performance against the Cincinnati Reds. An investigation by Houston police determined an intoxicated bettor overseas was behind the threats.

Four states -- Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming -- already have similar policies in place, and some of the largest sportsbooks have taken steps to combat the issue. DraftKings and Fanatics partnered with Integrity Compliance 360 this summer to implement a technology that uses artificial intelligence and investigative tools to detect social media abuse and identify the people behind it.

"It's just an infuriating issue," Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming and a sports betting industry veteran, told ESPN in June.

Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, president of the NBPA, said players are still adjusting to the new betting environment surrounding sports.

"We carry all of the burden, all of the risk and danger that comes with the association to gambling," VanVleet said in July. "It was one of those things that was just kind of thrown upon us, and I think everybody's trying to figure out how to adjust to it."