Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee have called on Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to prohibit promotional agreements between players and sports betting operators following controversy surrounding a Bryce Harper video.
The lawmakers said existing rules allowed FanDuel to send a personalized Cameo video featuring the Philadelphia Phillies first baseman to VIP customer Terry Thompson in November 2024.
Thompson subsequently sued FanDuel and other defendants, alleging gambling-related losses of approximately $2m and claiming the operator continued offering incentives despite his gambling behavior.
Under MLB's current collective bargaining agreement, players can enter promotional arrangements with legal betting operators, provided their name, uniform number, image or likeness is not used to encourage betting on a baseball game or event.
The lawmakers wrote: "We write to demand an end to the MLB and MLBPA policies that enabled this type of predatory promotion."
The issue has emerged while MLB and the MLBPA negotiate their next collective bargaining agreement.
The MLBPA has proposed that it and MLB jointly pursue restrictions on sportsbooks and daily fantasy operators offering proposition bets based on individual players.
The Harper dispute has also increased scrutiny of sportsbook VIP programs. Blumenthal, Tonko and Foushee have separately called on FanDuel to eliminate its VIP program, extending their intervention beyond baseball's rules governing player endorsements.
Blumenthal and Tonko have previously pursued broader federal sports betting restrictions through the SAFE Bet Act. Reintroduced in 2025, the legislation proposes minimum federal standards covering sports betting advertising, affordability protections and safeguards against gambling harm.
The proposed legislation would also restrict certain advertising practices, including promotions targeted at people experiencing gambling problems. The House and Senate measures remain at the introduced stage.
MLB and the MLBPA declined to comment on the congressional letter. The lawmakers submitted five questions to the league and union and requested responses by August 24.
In July, Harper stated that FanDuel had "no right" to use his Cameo video as a gambling promotion, saying he did not know how the recording would be used or that Thompson was a FanDuel VIP customer. Thompson's lawsuit also names DraftKings, the NFL and Genius Sports among the defendants.
The SAFE Bet Act would establish federal minimum standards for state-regulated sports betting, including requirements covering advertising, affordability and self-exclusion
