The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is open to stopping players from appearing in personalized sportsbook marketing connected with VIP or tier programs. At the same time, it wants MLB to support wider restrictions on some bets tied to events during games.
MLBPA General Counsel Jeffrey Perconte outlined that position in an August 24 response to Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee. The lawmakers had written to the union on August 10 after a personalized Bryce Harper video was reportedly sent to a FanDuel VIP customer struggling with gambling addiction.
The issue has become part of collective bargaining between MLB and the union, including negotiations over the Sports Betting Policy covering players. The MLBPA believes players should retain opportunities for sportsbook endorsements similar to commercial relationships involving MLB and its clubs, but says those deals need boundaries.
“We do not believe the ability of players to enter into such agreements should be unlimited, however,” Perconte wrote. “For example, we are prepared to support CBA restrictions that ban players from participating in personalized marketing campaigns connected to a VIP or tier program.”
MLBPA backs VIP marketing ban, seeks wider in-game betting limits
Beyond advertising, the MLBPA wants the league to help pursue restrictions on proposition bets and event contracts determined by in-game performance. Its proposal could cover wagers involving hits, runs, home runs, individual pitches or at-bats and whether a player suffers an injury.
“And while MLB has thus far rejected this proposal, we intend to continue pursuing it,” Perconte wrote.
The union returned to that dispute when addressing whether fan protection should come before gambling revenue.
“MLB has thus far balked, but negotiations remain ongoing and players intend to continue to push this proposal,” the MLBPA said.
MLB has previously acted on narrower microbetting concerns. In November 2025, authorized gaming operators began limiting pitch-level wagers to $200 and excluding those bets from parlays, after the league said such markets created heightened integrity risks.
Under the Sports Betting Policy negotiated in 2022, players cannot wager on baseball, arrange prohibited bets through others, knowingly benefit from impermissible wagers or provide confidential information for betting purposes. A 2025 supplement clarified that baseball prediction markets are also covered. Several players suspended in 2024 for betting-policy violations were reinstated after serving their penalties.
Sportsbook promotions remain permitted in some circumstances, and the union says most player-related campaigns use names, images, highlights or photographs passively. Existing rules, however, do not specifically address VIP programs.
“Our current policies do not explicitly reference or otherwise address the types of ‘predatory VIP programs’ described in your August 10th letter,” Perconte wrote. “The Association stands ready to make proposals in an effort to fill that gap.”
The MLBPA also plans to add personalized-marketing risks to its regular player education on addiction, mental health and prohibited conduct.
“As noted above, the Association is willing to adopt new restrictions banning player participation in personalized marketing campaigns that operate as part of a VIP or tier program,” Perconte wrote.
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