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Five major U.S. professional sports leagues and their players associations are asking gambling regulators to permanently bar bettors who threaten or harass athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel, or their families.
According to Yogonet, the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS sent a joint letter to regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia calling for uniform rules that would revoke betting privileges for verified offenders. The leagues also asked sportsbooks and mobile betting operators to apply permanent bans in those cases.
For West Virginia readers, the source said West Virginia is already among the states that exclude "bad actors" from licensed sportsbooks and mobile betting apps, along with Ohio, Louisiana and Wyoming. No new West Virginia-specific rule change was reported.
Leagues want permanent bans and a shared reporting system
The letter said harassment linked to sports betting has escalated since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that opened the door to state-regulated sports wagering.
The leagues asked regulators to adopt rules covering threats or abusive harassment directed at professional and amateur athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel, and their families. They also proposed a standardized cross-operator reporting system so verified evidence of threats could be securely shared with regulators.
In the letter, the leagues said, "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 NCAA did not sign the letter, according to the source.
Recent cases helped drive the push
The report cited several examples of betting-related abuse. Former Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers received threats from a bettor later found to be living overseas. The story also referenced California bettor Benjamin Patz, who sent threatening messages to four Tampa Bay Rays players and was accused of targeting more than 300 athlete and college-athlete accounts. Patz pleaded guilty in 2021 to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce and received mental health treatment and a gambling ban instead of prison time.
The article also pointed to congressional interest in sports betting oversight. In December 2024, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin held what the source described as the first federal hearing on sports betting in six years.
What West Virginia players should watch
Because West Virginia was listed as a state that already has bad-actor exclusions, the main takeaway for local bettors is that this debate is now expanding beyond individual state rules into a broader push for uniform enforcement and information sharing across operators.
The source did not report any immediate action by West Virginia regulators. For now, readers should watch for whether more states adopt the leagues’ proposed permanent-ban standard and whether regulators move toward a shared reporting framework for verified threats and harassment.
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Source: As reported by yogonet.com.
