Leagues Propose Action Against Abusive Bettors Who Target Players

By Barry Janoff

UPDATED September 24, 2026: Yahoo Sports: The NBA and WNBA are continuing to reinforce that they want state gambling regulators to crack down on betting-related harassment, and this time they've involved their players' unions and the referees.

When the initial statement was released in mid-September, the WNBA was, notably, not included as part of it. The WNBPA released a statement on the matter shortly after that letter came out, blaming the NBA for determining "that WNBA players did not warrant inclusion in a joint position statement."

This time around, both the WNBA, WNBPA and the referees' unions were included in the statement, a sign that all sides decided to work together after the WNBPA expressed frustration at being left off the original letter.

The leagues, NBPA, WNBPA and referees' unions from both sports sent a follow-up letter to gambling regulators reinforcing the demands laid out in a joint letter sent by the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS in mid-September. (Full story here.)

September 15, 2026: Stating that “The safety and well-bing of players, coaches, officials and their families much always come before a wager,” the NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL along with their respective players associations today submitted an official letter to sports wagering  regulators 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 letter was sent to regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

“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,” via the letter, which was posted to social media.

“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."

Not listed as part of this official request, women’s pro sports leagues such as the WNBA, NWSL, WTA, Unrivaled and PWHL have become major targets for volatile and abusive threats, including those from people who wager on sports.

The five leagues and their respective players’ unions offered proposed regulatory actions, including a mandatory lifetime ban, streamlined reporting mechanisms and operator accountability.

“As game participants do their utmost to protect integrity, abusive and violent threats should not serve as a deterrence from performing to their fullest,” according to the letter.

NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL each have official alliances with numerous legal sports wagering companies.

The letter comes as the NFL season has started, with Americans estimated to legally wager $29.5 billion on the 2026 season through U.S. regulated commercial sportsbooks, according to the American Gaming Assn.

It also comes on the heels of a report from FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service — a digital shield available to all teams, coaches, players and officials participating in FIFA tournaments — showing it “kicked away more than 7 million potentially harmful posts and comments (during) the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“That is a 14-times increase on the FIFA World Cup 2022, when 470,000 such posts and comments were removed.”

FIFA revealed it “actioned and reported over 200,000 abusive and threatening posts and comments, compared to 19,600 at Qatar 2022.”

The service moderated more than 53 million posts and comments since the tournament began.

"Football should bring people together, not divide them. Nobody should be subjected to abuse or threats simply for doing their job on the field,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said via the organization. 

This past July, in its ongoing and escalating effort to confront online abuse of its players, WTA Driven by Mercedes Benz said more than 1.2 million posts and comments were analyzed across 2025, with 66% of serious abuse removed and that 89% of accounts responsible for serious abuse in 2024 did not reappear in 2025.

The report is based on data from Signify Group’s Threat Matrix service.

“The wellbeing of players and the tennis family is an absolute priority for us and the sport as a whole, and the use of the Threat Matrix service is a key part of our wider work on player welfare,”  WTA and World Tennis said via the organizations.

““Insight from this report is crucial to helping us broaden our knowledge of the issue and take decisive action to protect victims of vile online abuse by punishing those responsible.”

FULL LETTER

To: State Gaming Commissions and Regulatory Authorities

Re: Call for Regulatory Action to Institute Permanent Sports Betting Bans for Individuals Threatening Athletes

Dear State Gaming Regulators,

On Behalf of the five largest professional sports leagues and players associations, we write to you today regarding the escalating threat facing professional players, coaches and officials: the continued harassment of violent threats from sports bettors.

While the expansion of legal, state-regulated sports betting has brought new ways for fans to engage with their favorite sports, it has also introduced some negative consequences for players and other personnel involved with professional sporing events.

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.

It is critical that state and local leaders safeguard the participants of sports at all levels. While some states like Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana and Wyoming already maintain exclusionary lists that ban bad actors from licensed sports books and mobile applications, we call on all state and gaming commissions and state policymakers to promptly adopt uniform rules and legislative guardrails to help address tis behavior.

“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."

Proposed Regulatory Action

Mandatory Lifetime Ban: Establish explicit rules requiring state-regulated sports books and mobile betting operators to permanently revoke waging privileges for any individual verified to have abusively harassed or issued threats of violence against any professional or amateur athlete, coach, official, team personnel or their respective families,

Streamlined Reporting Mechanisms: Create a standardized, cross-operator reporting framework allowing sports leagues, teams,  players and Players’ Associations to securely transmit verified evidence of threats to Tate regulators and law enforcement for possible placement on statewide exclusion lists. Exclusion in one state should be reciprocated in other states.

Operator Accountability: Require commercial sports book partners to proactively monitor, flag and ban accounts linked to abusive behavior toward athletes as a condition of maintaining their state licenses.

The safety and well-bing of players, coaches, officials and their families much always come before a wager. As game participants do their utmost to protect integrity, abusive and violent threats should not serve as a deterrence from performing to their fullest. We ask for your support in establishing policies that ensure those who threaten athletes or coaches lose their privilege to participate in sports betting forever.

Sincerely,

National Football League

National Football League Players Association

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball Players Association

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer Players Association

National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association Players Association

National Hockey League

National Hockey League Player Association

AGA Estimates $29.5B in Legal NFL Wagering, But Minimal Growth

WTA Shows Progress In Fight Vs Online Abuse Of Players: ‘Absolute Priority’

World Cup Participants Received 7M Abusive Posts

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