Share 
State of Play’s TL;DR
- The NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL, along with their players associations, asked regulators in 35 states and D.C. to let sportsbooks permanently revoke betting privileges for abusive bettors.
- The WNBPA criticized the NBA for not including women’s leagues in the request.
Five major professional sports leagues and their players associations have asked gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia to let sportsbooks permanently revoke betting privileges for people who threaten or harass athletes, coaches, officials, and other team personnel.
The letter was sent Tuesday by the NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, and the NHL, joined by their respective players associations.
It argues that legal sports betting has created new engagement opportunities for fans. But it has also led to threatening messages, in-person harassment, and violent threats tied to lost wagers.
What the leagues are asking states to do
The request is for regulators and policymakers to adopt rules allowing state-regulated sportsbooks to permanently ban any individual verified to have abusively harassed or threatened a professional or amateur athlete, coach, official, team employee, or their families.
In the letter, the leagues and unions said the issue has become an “escalating threat.” They added that people who lose bets too often direct threatening messages through social media and in-person interactions.
They also called on state gaming commissions and lawmakers to adopt “uniform rules and legislative guardrails” to address the behavior.
Existing examples and what comes next
The letter points to Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Wyoming as states that already exclude some bad actors.
For sports betting stakeholders, the immediate significance is regulatory. The leagues are pushing for broader and more consistent exclusion tools across legal betting markets.
What is not yet clear is how states would verify abusive harassment or threats before a permanent wagering ban is imposed, or which jurisdictions may move first in response to the request.
For bettors, this is a reminder that regulated sportsbooks may face growing pressure to adopt tougher enforcement around harassment tied to betting activity. Threats against athletes, officials, or families are not just grounds for platform discipline under the proposal; the leagues said such conduct crosses an ethical and criminal line.
WNBPA criticizes NBA for disregarding women’s leagues
The WNBPA criticized the NBA for signing on to the request without including any women’s leagues.
The WNBPA said the joint memo targeted exactly the kind of abuse WNBA players have said they have faced.
WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson said the omission was especially frustrating given the public incidents involving WNBA players.
“It is deeply disappointing that, given the very public and troubling incidents of betting-related harassment experienced by our members over the past several seasons, the NBA determined that WNBA players did not warrant inclusion in a joint position statement intended to address this very issue.”
WNBA players have raised the issue repeatedly
Abuse from bettors has been a recurring issue in the WNBA. In July, Chelsea Gray posted on Instagram a user calling her a racial slur.
That same month, Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud said she had asked NBA commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to address player safety around betting-related threats.
“So for both Adam and Cathy, there still has to be dialogue around this as our leagues continue to expand and as we continue to navigate what this betting world is. Cause we want to be in it; it’s great for our league, but also within it, we have to be protected as human beings when we take these jerseys off.”
WNBA secretary Elizabeth Williams also said after a late-July meeting with league security and player committees that “there are steps that are being taken,” but added that the union wanted “a little more consistency.”
The NBA owns about 42% of the WNBA, and the leagues are based in the same New York offices.
Based on reporting by Charles Odum for the Associated Press via News 4 Jax and Colin Salao for Front Office Sports via Yahoo Sports.
