The NBA has joined the NFL, MLB, MLS and NHL, along with their respective players associations, in calling for stronger sports betting regulations to protect athletes, coaches, officials and their families from harassment and threats.
The five major professional sports leagues and their players associations issued an open letter Tuesday, September 15, addressed to state gaming commissions and regulatory authorities across the United States.
The groups described an “escalating threat” involving sports bettors who direct abusive messages and violent threats at players, coaches and other sports personnel after losing wagers.
“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,” the organizations wrote.
The letter acknowledges that the expansion of legal, state-regulated sports betting has created additional ways for fans to engage with professional sports, but argues that it has also produced negative consequences for participants.
According to the leagues and players associations, athletes and their families are increasingly targeted through social media and in-person interactions by individuals angry about the outcome of their bets.
The organizations are calling for states to establish uniform rules and legislative safeguards, pointing to Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana and Wyoming as examples of states that already maintain exclusionary lists banning certain individuals from licensed sportsbooks and mobile betting applications.
The first proposed measure is a mandatory lifetime ban. Under the proposal, state-regulated sportsbooks and mobile betting operators would be required to permanently revoke wagering privileges from anyone verified to have abusively harassed or threatened violence against a professional or amateur athlete, coach, official, team employee or their families.
The leagues also want streamlined reporting mechanisms that would allow leagues, teams and players associations to securely provide verified evidence of threats to state regulators and law enforcement.
A key part of the proposal is interstate reciprocity. If an individual is excluded from sports betting in one state because of verified threats or harassment, that exclusion should be recognized in other states as well.
The organizations are also seeking greater operator accountability, asking regulators to require commercial sportsbook partners to proactively monitor and identify accounts associated with abusive behavior toward athletes.
The leagues argue that such requirements should become a condition of maintaining a sportsbook’s state operating license.
The NBA and NBPA have increasingly operated within an environment where sports betting is integrated into the fan experience, making the issue particularly relevant to professional basketball. The joint letter emphasizes that the safety of players, coaches, officials and their families must take priority over any individual wager.
The organizations concluded by asking state regulators and policymakers to ensure that people who threaten athletes or coaches permanently lose their ability to participate in legal sports betting.
The letter was signed collectively by the NFL, NFL Players Association, MLB, MLB Players Association, MLS, MLS Players Association, NBA, NBA Players Association, NHL and NHL Players Association.
