LeBron James Sends Cease and Desist to Bron AI Over Betting App Ad That Uses His Likeness

LeBron James is going after a sports betting startup that built its launch ad around a character who looks and sounds like him. The Philadelphia 76ers star sent a cease and desist letter to Bron AI, a betting app owned by Y Combinator-backed PlayVision Inc., Front Office Sports' Ben Horney reported Thursday in an exclusive.

"LeBron is in no way affiliated with this unauthorized use of his likeness," a spokesperson for James told Front Office Sports.

What the Ad Shows

Bron AI CEO Anish Gupta posted the spot, which runs just over a minute, to X on Wednesday with the caption "Meet Bron: The Tiktok for Sports Betting." By Thursday morning it had more than 980,000 views.

According to Front Office Sports, the ad's main character resembles James, wears a jersey with his nickname "Bron" and the No. 23, and has a voice that resembles his. The character flips through the app and stops on Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks, one of James' longtime on-court rivals. "Dillon Brooks? On Kalshi? Hell nah," the character says. The ad also includes images of Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Christian McCaffrey and Jayden Daniels, FOS reported.

What the Letter Demands

The letter, from the law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, cites the "unauthorized use and illicit exploitation of" James' "name, nickname, likeness, image, persona, and other identifying attributes, materials and related information," according to FOS.

It calls the use "especially serious and egregious" for two reasons. James has an exclusive endorsement deal with Polymarket, and the letter says the ad implies he is "involved with betting on basketball, which is a very serious violation of NBA rules and regulations."

The letter demands that Bron AI permanently stop using James' likeness "in any manner and media," including taking down the ad, and that it notify every person who has used the app, in writing, that James has no involvement. It says James "intends to take any and all steps to enforce his rights as appropriate."

Bron AI and PlayVision did not respond to Front Office Sports' requests for comment.

The Other Rules the Ad May Have Broken

James' camp is focused on his likeness, but designer and investor Josh Puckett pointed to a longer list of problems in a reply to Gupta's post late Wednesday night.

Puckett wrote that the ad features a child actor, which he said violates American Gaming Association and Responsible Online Gaming Association standards, as well as state rules such as Massachusetts' 205 CMR 256, that require anyone appearing in sports betting ads to be 21 or older and not appear younger.

He also said the ad includes no responsible gambling messaging, helpline number or 21+ disclosure, which he noted are required under industry codes and multiple state regulations. And he argued that billing the app as "TikTok for Sports Betting" risks "creating primary appeal to younger audiences," in conflict with rules against marketing aimed at minors.

"@ycombinator come get your boy pls before @KingJames sues him and you," Puckett wrote. Those are Puckett's claims, and no regulator has ruled on the ad.

'These Gimmicks Never Work'

Adam Mendelsohn, James' longtime media advisor, called the ad "another example of the decline and lack of originality in sports marketing" and suggested the letter was exactly the reaction Bron AI wanted.

"I'm sure the intent here was for us to send a cease and desist in order to make it a story. You would prefer not to respond but you don't have a choice in a situation like this. It's not the first time and it won't be the last. For what it's worth, these gimmicks never work because people see through it."

Sports attorney Darren Heitner told FOS that "it appears the commercial is a clear effort to trade on LeBron James's identity," adding, "That is the type of unauthorized commercial use the right of publicity is intended to address."

What Is Bron AI?

PlayVision was founded in 2025 and is backed by Y Combinator, which lists Gupta and Marc Zoghby as Bron's founders. In his launch thread, Gupta pitched the app as a way for users to scroll through hundreds of bets it rates as positive expected value and place them automatically on the sportsbook or prediction market of their choice. Bron Pro costs $249.99 a year or $29.99 a month, per FOS.

It is not the first time this year that a star's lawyers have gone after a betting company. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's attorney sent a cease and desist to Underdog in May, and Underdog refused to comply, FOS reported.

Sources: Front Office Sports, Y Combinator, and posts on X from Anish Gupta and Josh Puckett (@joshpuckett), who first flagged the ad's other rule issues. More NBA coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Clément Bardot via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). LeBron James at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.