Three members of Congress have pressed FanDuel to provide copies and detailed records for about 30 personalised videos sent to VIP bettors, escalating scrutiny of whether celebrity messages and other perks reached customers experiencing gambling harm.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul D. Tonko and Valerie P. Foushee asked for each video, the reason it was sent, the service used to obtain it and what the participating athletes or entertainers understood about its connection to FanDuel and gambling promotion. Their deadline for a written response is Oct. 20.
FanDuel acknowledged in a Sept. 24 response that it had sent about 30 athlete and entertainer videos in the preceding two years, describing them as tokens of appreciation for customer loyalty. The lawmakers now want to know whether recipients were problem gamblers, their wagering activity and any requests to suspend, limit or close accounts.
They also sought details of how VIP hosts assessed customers for signs of gambling harm, what data and behaviour FanDuel monitors, and whether screening information was used for personalised videos, push notifications, retention bonuses or other perks. The lawmakers said the company had not explained whether its automated and manual reviews for gambling harm informed promotional targeting.
The inquiry centres on a late-2024 Bryce Harper Cameo message sent to FanDuel customer Terry Thompson. The lawmakers said Thompson wagered $18.5 million through FanDuel and lost more than $1.5 million, while receiving VIP benefits including champagne, Super Bowl tickets and exclusive parties. Harper has said he did not know his 21-second video would be used as a FanDuel VIP promotion and had no affiliation with the operator.
The lawmakers argued that FanDuel’s assertion that personalised videos were not meant to induce continued gambling was contradicted by the Harper message reaching a customer who had suffered heavy losses. They said the VIP programme and its perks could exploit people with gambling addiction.
As we reported in August, the same lawmakers had already demanded that FanDuel end its VIP betting programme. FanDuel has maintained that the programme was not designed to encourage destructive gambling, saying customers seeking to cut back can be directed to responsible-gaming tools or an evaluation that may result in a suspension, deposit limit or platform prohibition.
The new request follows the lawmakers’ conclusion that FanDuel had not fully answered earlier questions about VIP monitoring, whether managers encouraged harmful gambling among other customers, or whether the programme would change.
