Sports betting is continuing to grow like weeds. With it being legalized in 39 states and Washington, D.C., bettors are having a field day placing their game-day wagers on their favorite teams and players.
Way too often some bettors go overboard and put their family’s well-being and livelihood in jeopardy. That’s exactly what happened to bettor Terry Thompson, who lost as much as $1.5 million in bets with FanDuel, a major North American online gaming and sports-entertainment company.
Thompson Diagnosed With Gambling Addiction
Over a six-year span, Thompson managed to lose the aforementioned $1.5 million, which included his family’s life savings. In what began as a simple wager at the start of the 2020 season with FanDuel Sportsbook quickly turned into an addiction.
It was his first time gambling through an app, and he soon started placing microbets, which are in-game wagers on something as small as whether the next play would be a pass or run. The easiness of placing bets made it easy for Thompson who took it as far as to wager $18.5 million, which ultimately earned him VIP status with the outlet.
That meant exclusive perks, from champagne to Super Bowl tickets, which made him feel important and enticed him to continue gambling. By late November 2024 was a full blown addict who’d suffer huge losses and accrued some insurmountable debt.
Phillies Star Appears In Direct Message
Adding insult to injury, Thompson, who’d already resorted to desperate measures to support his addiction, received a video message from Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper. In a 21-second video obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Harper, the two-time NL MVP, can be heard acknowledging Thompson and his young son by name. In the video the former No.1 overall pick also isn’t wearing anything with the FanDuel Sportsbook logo on it, but, oddly, the video is marked with the company’s logo .
Harper, who will be appearing in 2026 All-Star Game and Home Run Derby activities July 13-14 in Philadelphia, even mentions that he was reaching out on behalf of Thompson’s VIP manager, “your host Bryttanni at FanDuel,” who wanted to ensure that Thompson had an “extra special Thanksgiving.”
As a result of this Thompson is suing Terry Thompson is suing FanDuel, DraftKings, the NFL, the National Football League’s data partner Genius Sports, and five individual sportsbook employees who acted as his VIP hosts
The lawsuit, filed by the Public Health Advocacy Institute in Pennsylvania, alleges that the companies aggressively used micro-betting data and VIP perks to feed his gambling addiction
Almost sounds like a strange case of being catfished, although that’s a stretch.
Fans Chime In On Harper Being Involved With Sad Story
Thompson’s lack of self-discipline has social media buzzing.
“I’m sorry, but this is a ridiculous angle. This is simply product marketing. It is not FanDuel’s fault this guy couldn’t control himself. I don’t think gambling is a good thing, but it is legal. You cannot hold businesses accountable for engaging in legal enterprise. If you have a problem with that, take it up with your representatives that define the law on the issue,” a person said.
“Completely ridiculous to blame Harper at all for this. He wished him a happy Thanksgiving he didn’t encourage him to gamble. Athletes do meet and greets all the time this is nothing different,” another person replied.
“Sorry but I don’t feel sorry for a guy who had $1.5 million to spend gambling. Bryce Harper didn’t nothing wrong,” a fan commented.
“Having a degenerate gambler who’s a loser is one thing, you’ll never get much to any sympathy for that… but to have a company put that much effort into pressuring someone with a problem to keep going is inexcusable,” someone else quipped.
“He’s an adult. Act like one. Take accountability for voluntary actions,” a fan mentioned.
Sounds more like a lack of accountability than anything. Thompson gambled and lost, and big at that.