Harper said in a story on his verified Instagram account that he had joined the messaging site Cameo to engage with fans with paid videos but that \u201cwhat happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not know this video would be used for commercial purposes,\u201d Harper wrote. \u201cThe request included a short script. I read it 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Inquirer obtained a copy of the 21-second video<\/a> from November 2024, which is marked with a blue FanDuel logo and shows Harper offering a greeting to the bettor, Terry Thompson, and Thompson\u2019s son, by name.<\/p>\n Harper\u2019s statement also said he has no affiliation with FanDuel and that \u201cContrary to the Inquirer\u2019s suggestion, I did not know that the Cameo video would be used for a FanDuel VIP promotion.\u201d<\/p>\n However, in the video Harper states that he\u2019s reaching out at the request of Thompson\u2019s VIP manager \u2014 \u201cyour host Bryttanni at FanDuel.\u201d Harper also posted the Cameo script, which included the language about FanDuel.<\/p>\n The Inquirer reported on the video on Thursday. Harper had declined to comment until today. His statement came ahead of Monday night\u2019s 2026 MLB Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park. A media availability is planned for this afternoon.<\/p>\n Beginning in 2020, Thompson wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel and lost $1.5 million, according to a lawsuit that the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March<\/a> in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Thompson and against FanDuel and DraftKings, to which Thompson also lost money.<\/p>\n Harper says he did not know anything about Thompson.<\/p>\n \u201cHad I known FanDuel\u2019s true intent, I would not have made the video,\u201d Harper wrote on Instagram. \u201cThe same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged \u2018partnership\u2019 between Cameo and FanDuel.\u201d<\/p>\n On the advice of counsel, Harper wrote, he would not comment further.<\/p>\n FanDuel did not immediately respond Monday to Harper\u2019s Instagram post. Last week the company released a statement: <\/p>\n \u201cFanDuel is committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers. Unlike illegal offshore sportsbooks, FanDuel employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools, and we continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry\u2019s strongest consumer protection initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n The Phillies and Major League Baseball have so far declined to comment on the video.<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which regulates casinos, online gambling and sports wagering, said on Friday that it is examining the video, but a spokesman for the board declined to provide details.<\/p>\n The Inquirer will continue to report on issues related to the growth of gambling addiction \u2014 among teens and adults \u2014 across Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, wants to speak with a reporter, please contact David Gambacorta or William Bender at dgambacorta@inquirer.com<\/a> and wbender@inquirer.com<\/a><\/p>\n Acknowledgment<\/p>\n The Inquirer\u2019s journalism is supported, in part, by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and readers like you. News and editorial content are created independently of The Inquirer\u2019s donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer\u2019s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com\/donate<\/a>. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org\/supporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min Bryce Harper, the Phillies All-Star first basemen, claimed on Monday that he was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[325674,97,259,260],"class_list":["post-760787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-harper-fanduel-video-response-instagram-gambling-addiction","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/circle_outline_footer_light_theme.png\"\/)
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