Sports betting is everywhere. One place – or person, rather – where you won’t find any support is with San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama.
According to the American Gaming Association, sports betting revenue surged to a record $16.96 billion in 2025, a staggering 22.8% year-over-year increase. That figure was bolstered by a 22% annual growth of the online sports betting market.
Despite the popularity, and despite the potential revenue Wembanyama could net, he’s not interested in those endorsements.
“Absolutely not,” Wembanyama told reporters Thursday, Oct. 1 when asked if he would ever become a brand ambassador for a sports gambling company. “I would never do that. Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it, in my opinion.
Everybody does whatever they want, but without me.”
As the landscape for sports betting and prediction markets has exploded in recent years, several players have profited by signing deals to endorse these companies.
Recently, LeBron James’ previous deal with DraftKings expired, so he partnered with Polymarket. In February 2026, Giannis Antetokounmpo took a passive equity stake in Kalshi that is less than 1%, and he’s doing promotional work for the prediction market. Boardroom, a sports and entertainment media network co-founded by Kevin Durant, has partnered with FanDuel, with Durant frequently appearing in ads and even floating proposed parlay bets that fans and users can tail.
The NBA also has a lengthy list of official and authorized betting and gaming partners, both domestically and internationally.
Wembanyama, 22, has repeatedly been outspoken about several cultural and societal issues, from his rejection of soda products, to saying he was “horrified” of fatal shootings of civilians by federal immigration enforcement officers.
Similarly, Wembanyama has expressed a desire to be very intentional about the brands he partners with.
“In the past, a dimension of money, but not anymore,” Wembanyama said. “But even with that, I refused much, much more money than I’ve made for things that were not to my values. And now I want to promote things that have a good impact, have a good influence with who I can share messages and values. The one thing that’s very important for me: our biggest strength is not our millions and millions (of dollars), our biggest strength is by inspiring. And we can inspire in a good or bad way.
“I want to inspire in a good way; that’s the strongest thing I can do.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Victor Wembanyama takes strong stand against promoting sports betting
