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Bryce Harper says FanDuel had “no right” to slap its logo on a Cameo video he made that was sent to a gambling addict in 2024.
The Phillies first baseman said he did not know the video would be used as part of FanDuel’s VIP bettor program, and that he was unaware the man receiving the video—who has since sued the sportsbook—had a gambling problem at the time.
The comments, made on Harper’s Instagram account, represent his first public acknowledgment of the video, which went viral last week after it was published by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harper’s side of the story lines up with much of what Front Office Sports reported Friday: Sources told FOS he has no professional relationship with FanDuel, that the video was made on video-sharing platform Cameo, that he didn’t know it would be used as part of the VIP program, and that it was purchased as a personal video with no commercial use rights, as opposed to a business video, which costs more money and comes with commercial use rights.
“I joined Cameo to engage with fans through paid personalized videos,” Harper wrote on his Instagram Story. “What happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved.”
According to Harper, in November 2024, he received an order from someone who identified themselves only by their first name for a “holiday video for Terry.”
“Cameo had a separate category for business video requests, and at the time I did not know this video would be used for commercial purposes,” Harper wrote.
In the video, Harper tells a man named Terry that his VIP host “from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special, so I just wanted to hop on and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving.”
Other than the reference to a FanDuel VIP host, Harper does not mention betting in the 21-second video, the bottom of which features the FanDuel logo.
On Monday, Harper noted in his post that the order included a “short script” that he “read in good faith.” He included a screenshot showing the script he was provided, which includes a reference to the fact that the message was requested by a host from FanDuel.
“FanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion,” Harper wrote. “I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”
A representative for Harper did not respond to a request for comment on the fact that Harper knowingly referenced FanDuel in the video but claims he didn’t know it would be used for anything tied to FanDuel.
A representative for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board told ESPN on Friday that the organization is looking into the Harper video.
‘Gambling Addiction Disorder’
The recipient of the video is Terry Thompson. In March, he and another plaintiff named Christopher Sage sued FanDuel, DraftKings, BetFair, and others, claiming they knowingly and intentionally coerce users into betting large amounts of money by using data to target them with “microbets,” also known as prop bets, which are wagers based on events like the outcome of the next pitch in an MLB game.
Thompson claims he lost $1.52 million on FanDuel and $336,000 on DraftKings. In total, Thompson, who says he has developed a “gambling addiction disorder,” says he placed roughly $18.5 million worth of bets on FanDuel, a large sum that explains why he became one of the company’s VIP bettors. The complaint says Thompson placed his first bet on FanDuel in late 2020.
Harper said Monday he “would not have made the video” if he had known FanDuel intended to use it as part of its VIP bettor program. “The same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged ‘partnership’ between Cameo and FanDuel.”
FOS reported Friday that Cameo and FanDuel have a partnership under which Cameo videos can be purchased for VIP bettors, although it has not been publicly announced. A representative for Cameo has not responded to requests for comment on the partnership, and FanDuel has declined to comment on the partnership.
Following the video’s publication last week, FanDuel said in a statement it “is committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers,” that employees are “trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools,” and that the company continues “to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry’s strongest consumer protection initiatives.”
The company declined to comment further Monday.
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