The NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS want verified offenders permanently excluded from legal sportsbooks.
Five major professional sports leagues and their players’ associations are asking state regulators to impose lifetime betting bans on people who threaten or abusively harass athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel or their families.
Leagues call for permanent sportsbook bans
The NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer sent a joint letter to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
The organizations said legalized sports betting has created new opportunities for fans but has also contributed to threats from bettors angry about losing wagers, including bets tied to individual player performance.
Their proposal would require licensed sportsbooks and mobile-betting platforms to permanently revoke wagering privileges for verified offenders. The groups also want a standardized system for submitting evidence of threats and abusive harassment to regulators and law-enforcement agencies.
States already testing exclusion systems
Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana and Wyoming already have procedures that can exclude bettors accused of threatening sports participants. The leagues want compatible rules across jurisdictions offering legal sports wagering so an offender barred in one state cannot simply place bets elsewhere.
The letter represents an unusual point of agreement between the five leagues and their players’ unions, all of which signed onto the proposal.
Women’s leagues were not included
Women’s professional leagues were not among the signatories. The Women’s National Basketball Players Association later criticized its exclusion while voicing support for stronger protections for athletes facing betting-related abuse.
State regulators have not announced whether they will adopt a uniform approach, and sports betting rules remain largely state-specific.
