Bryce Harper says a personalized Cameo video he recorded was never intended to become part of a FanDuel gambling promotion, pushing back after reporting linked the clip to a high-value sportsbook customer. The Philadelphia Phillies star said he believed he was simply creating a holiday greeting for a fan and had no idea it would later appear in marketing connected to gambling.
Responding on social media to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Harper said he joined Cameo to make personalized paid videos and expected requests on the platform to be genuine fan messages rather than commercial campaigns.
“In response to a recent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, I want to provide the following facts,” Harper wrote.
Harper explained that in November 2024 a user identified only as “Bryttanni” ordered a personal “holiday video for Terry.” He said Cameo offered a separate category for business requests, and nothing about this order suggested it would be used commercially. According to Harper, the request included a brief script that he read “in good faith.”
“FanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion. I did not know FanDuel would do this, I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it,” Harper said.
He also said he would never have recorded the message had he known FanDuel’s intentions or anything about the recipient or “any alleged ‘partnership’ between Cameo and FanDuel.”
“Contrary to the Inquirer’s suggestion, I did not know the Cameo video would be used for a FanDuel VIP promotion, and I have no affiliation with FanDuel whatsoever,” he wrote.
Harper ended his statement by saying his counsel had advised him not to comment further.
Harper FanDuel dispute adds to betting integrity debate
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said it knows about the matter but emphasized the customer involved is based in Pennsylvania. Spokesperson Thomas Mills said regulators remain focused on a wider examination of sportsbook VIP programs rather than announcing any enforcement action tied to Harper or FanDuel.
“The Commission is aware of the matter. This situation involves a Pennsylvania patron. We maintain a close working relationship with other jurisdictions. The MGC is looking into VIP programs as a whole. This project has been moving along, and an update could be placed on an agenda as early as this fall,” Mills said.
The dispute arrives as gambling’s relationship with professional sports faces growing scrutiny. Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked MLB and other major leagues to detail their sportsbook and prediction-market partnerships, warning that expanding betting ties could affect integrity, athlete safety, addiction risks, and oversight. He has also questioned how leagues monitor suspicious wagering and whether financial incentives influence policy decisions.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz continue fighting federal gambling-related charges. Their defense argues intercepted messages cited by prosecutors referred to legal rooster betting in the Dominican Republic rather than baseball wagering, while both players remain on paid non-disciplinary leave before jury selection was scheduled for May 2026.
ReadWrite has reached out to FanDuel for comment.
Featured image: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA via WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 2.0
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