r/anticasino

Since 2020, the operator's client, Terry Thompson, placed a total of $18.5 million in bets through FanDuel; for such turnover, the company granted him VIP status and assigned him a personal manager. After Thompson suffered major losses, the manager sent him a video in which Harper, a two-time league MVP, addresses him by name, mentions his son, and thanks him for his support. Experts are calling the case unprecedented. Journalists found no evidence of a partnership between Harper and FanDuel, nor any indication that the baseball player was aware of the recipient's addiction; and The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial team found no other examples of an active athlete recording a personalized message for an operator's VIP client. According to the lawsuit, Thompson's losses eventually reached nearly $2 million, which he covered by taking out mortgages on his home and selling his stake in an investment firm. In late February, Thompson lost his last $10K on DraftKings, after which he went through a severe psychological crisis and is now undergoing treatment for gambling addiction at a psychiatric clinic. In March, lawyers filed a lawsuit on his behalf against FanDuel and DraftKings, accusing the operators' products and VIP services of deliberately maximizing addiction. Harper is not among the defendants, but his case has raised the question for MLB of how close players should be allowed to get to the gambling industry. The league and the baseball players' union are already discussing a new collective bargaining agreement. Where should the line be drawn between sports stars and the gambling industry - and who bears responsibility when that line blurs?