Blumenthal Presses American Sports Leagues on Gambling & Prediction Market Partnerships

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today wrote to major American sports leagues raising concerns about the further entrenchment of gambling and prediction markets in professional and college sports. In letters sent to the CEOs of Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Blumenthal pressed the leagues on steps they are taking to preserve the integrity of the game, prevent fueling addiction, protect athletes, and comply with state laws in any partnerships with prediction markets.

In a letter sent to MLB Commissioner Robert Dean Manfred Jr., Blumenthal wrote, "The MLB's financial and operational partnership with Polymarket and FanDuel provides the league's official blessing to gambling's ugly takeover of sports and bolsters its marketing, wagering, and legitimacy. Fans are taking notice of this and its detrimental effects: according to polling, 47% of men under 30, one of the most likely groups to wager, say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society."

Blumenthal continued, "Potential branding rights and placement for gambling operators and gambling service providers make it impossible for fans to avoid constant reminders about gambling, which is especially dangerous for problem gamblers. Access to league and teams' data could also fuel wagers, including microbets and prop bets that encourage addiction and are prone to fraud. The MLB should refrain from any partnerships and cut ties with gambling operators and gambling service providers that undermine the game, support strict state and federal oversight, and ensure that any contracts require strong safeguards and enforcement against addiction, fraud, and exploitation."

Earlier this year, Blumenthal introduced the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act, which establishes federal consumer protections and returns regulatory authority to the states.

Blumenthal has also authored legislation to create nationwide consumer protections and standards for the mobile sports gambling industry. Last year, Blumenthal reintroduced the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act alongside U.S. Representative Paul D. Tonko (D-NY). The SAFE Bet Act requires states offering sports betting to meet minimum federal standards in the categories of marketing, affordability and Artificial Intelligence to create a safer, less addictive product. Blumenthal also reintroduced the Gambling addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment (GRIT) Act, with U.S. Representative Andrea Salinas (D-OR). The GRIT Act dedicates federal funds to studying, preventing, and treating gambling addiction in America.

The full text of Blumenthal's letter to MLB is available below. Copies of Blumenthal's letters to the leagues area available here.

Dear Mr. Manfred,

As sportsbooks and prediction markets become more entangled and entrenched in professional and college sports, I am writing to request information about Major League Baseball's (MLB) partnership with Polymarket and FanDuel (along with any other operators) and the steps that the MLB is taking to ensure that its partnerships preserve the integrity of the game, prevents fueling addiction, protects athletes, and complies with state laws.

Since the federal ban on sports gambling-a ban supported by the leagues-was overturned eight years ago, gambling has permeated every aspect of the game. Commercial breaks during games are littered with ads for sportsbooks and prediction markets, discussions of betting and spreads are a staple of sports news and commentary, and gambling companies sponsor teams and stadiums. Sports bettors have wagered over $600 billion since 2018, two and a half million Americans have a severe gambling problem, and five to eight million more have at least a moderate gambling problem.

Sportsbooks and prediction markets are marshalling every resource, partnership, endorsement, and dataset to expand and dominate this lucrative market. Operators have poured well over half a billion dollars annually into marketing and engaged in sophisticated targeted advertising and promotional offers to lure consumers. Further fueling this deluge, prediction markets, which are essentially operating as gambling companies, have sought to circumvent state gambling regulations, claiming to operate nationally under the Commodity Exchange Act even in states where gambling is banned.

The consequences of this rampant rise of sports gambling have been accelerating addiction, threats to players, and even the corruption of the game. Sports betting apps are driving increased rates of addiction, bankruptcy, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse-especially as sophisticated promotions and A.I. marketing schemes to encourage people start gambling and barrage problem gamblers with reminders, incentives, and rewards. Prop bets, microbets, and lucrative payouts have fostered point-shaving schemes, insider betting, bribery, and game-fixing from players, staff, and their associates-an assault on the very integrity of the game.

Athletes themselves increasingly face abuse, harassment and even death threats in some cases from bettors with money on the line. Pervasive sports betting culture has fans rooting for a payout, not their favorite teams, and dehumanizes players into financial assets, with even their health and safety as the subjects of bets. Prediction markets have made all of these problems worse by offering unregulated wagers that ignore state age limits, fail to adopt basic measures to prevent problem gambling, and offer riskier bets, including on concussions and roughing. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's failure to rein prediction markets has meant essentially no rules or oversight on the gambling platforms that leagues are embracing.

The MLB's financial and operational partnership with Polymarket and FanDuel provides the league's official blessing to gambling's ugly takeover of sports and bolsters its marketing, wagering, and legitimacy. Fans are taking notice of this and its detrimental effects: according to polling, 47% of men under 30, one of the most likely groups to wager, say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society. Potential branding rights and placement for gambling operators and gambling service providers make it impossible for fans to avoid constant reminders about gambling, which is especially dangerous for problem gamblers. Access to league and teams' data could also fuel wagers, including microbets and prop bets that encourage addiction and are prone to fraud. The MLB should refrain from any partnerships and cut ties with gambling operators and gambling service providers that undermine the game, support strict state and federal oversight, and ensure that any contracts require strong safeguards and enforcement against addiction, fraud, and exploitation.

Given the sports leagues' growing ties with betting, please provide detailed answers to the following questions regarding the MLB's partnerships with gambling operators and gambling service providers (including sportsbooks and prediction markets) and their service providers (such as companies that data aggregation) by May 1, 2026:

1. Please provide a list of all partnerships that the MLB has with operators of and service providers for sportsbooks and prediction markets along with the financial and operations terms of such partnerships.
2. States have sued and blocked prediction markets over their attempts to circumvent state gambling regulations. What steps does the MLB take to ensure that any partnerships with prediction markets do not violate state laws, to avoid encouraging consumers from gambling on prediction markets where they are unlawful, and to mandate that its prediction market partners comply with state laws?
3. What data about games, teams, and athletes (such the health and performance of players) will the MLB provide in its partnerships with gambling operators and gambling service providers?
4. What data and promotion to fans (such as contact information or access to marketing platforms) will the MLB provide in its partnerships with gambling operators and gambling service providers?
5. Does the MLB's partnership impose any restrictions on the types of bets that can be placed on its games, such as prop bets, microbets, parlays, or bets over the health and safety of players?
6. What specific measures will the MLB and its partners take to detect, prevent, and bring enforcement actions against:
7. 1. players, staff, and their associates for point-shaving, insider betting, game-fixing, bribery, and other threats to the integrity of the game;
   1. harassment against players and staff, and other interference efforts; and,
   1. the offering of wagers that would represent or be decided on actions that threaten the health and safety of players, such as concussions or roughing.
8. What specific measures will the MLB and its partners take to ensure that gambling advertisements, offers, and operations do not foster problem gambling, such as ensuring that partners participate in industry-wide self-exclusion lists, that advertisements are not targeted to individuals under state-set age limits on gambling, and to otherwise limit gambling advertising during games?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.

Sincerely,

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