FanDuel changed its terms and conditions, last updated April 28, to clarify the company’s stance on harassment. The operator will now ban any user from the platform who is found to harass athletes or coaches in response to a betting result. FanDuel is believed to be the first U.S. operator to implement a specific policy on suspension for online harassment.
The change follows a rise in online harassment of athletes, particularly on social media, over the past year. A 2024 NCAA study showed that comments related to sports betting make up about 12% of all social media abuse directed at student-athletes, coaches, and officials.
“Many athletes are on social media, interacting with fans, and that has led to some really fun and entertaining experiences and bringing fans closer to the game, but it also gives fans an opportunity to say, frankly, unacceptable things to athletes that are negative or harassing,” Cory Fox, SVP of Public Policy and Sustainability at FanDuel, said.
Although FanDuel’s terms and conditions previously allowed them to ban any user who exhibited abuse, the company felt the need to clarify that customers will be suspended for such activity.
The new terms and conditions state: “We may, in our sole discretion, suspend or terminate your Account and/or exclude you from the Services if we determine that you pose a threat to the safety of participants in a sporting event or discover that you engaged in the harassment of a sports official, coach, or any participant in a sporting event.”
One incident that prompted the change involved track and field star Gabby Thomas, who was heckled and followed during a Grand Slam event.
“This grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults — anybody who enables him online is gross,” Thomas wrote on X.
The user posted about the incident on X as well, making it clear the reason for the abuse was the result of a bet: “I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win.”
The incident with Thomas took place under FanDuel’s previous terms and conditions, but it motivated the company to clearly state its stance on harassment.
“It helped remind us to make it really clear, but again, we have long believed that we have clear authority within the terms and conditions to suspend users who are behaving in that way,” Fox said.
Fixing the situation
While FanDuel was able to suspend the user who harassed Thomas as both parties came forward, in most cases, the anonymous nature of social media makes it difficult for operators to identify perpetrators.
Joe Maloney, the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) senior vice president of strategic communications, identified education as a key factor in mitigating online abuse of athletes.
Maloney pointed to the AGA’s Have a Game Plan initiative, which aims to educate bettors on responsible gaming through five pillars. The AGA added the fifth pillar, Keep Your Cool, in response to the rising abuse on social media. The pillar emphasizes the importance of not letting the outcome of a game affect one’s emotions too much, and the result of a bet is not a reason to lash out against players, coaches, or team officials.
FanDuel partners with the AGA on its Have a Game Plan platform and encourages responsible gaming education for its customers.
“We’re working with them to expand that advertising program, and I think we’ll continue to look at more ways that we can reach our own customers as well with similar messaging,” Fox said.
After education, law enforcement actions can be taken to achieve deterrence, Maloney explained.
Maloney, who indicated FanDuel is the first operator with such a policy in its terms and conditions, emphasized that these deterrence measures are only possible with legal gambling markets. In illegal markets, operators cannot partner with initiatives such as the AGA’s Have a Game Plan to promote responsible gaming, or with law enforcement.
“That’s an area where we have the tools within legal, regulated gaming and the partnerships with law enforcement and leagues and teams to help begin to mitigate some of this abuse,” Maloney said. “But, again, we suspect that continued adoption of measures such as the one that FanDuel took will truly depend upon the increase and the importance of that dialogue with leagues and teams.”
