Congress Demands More Answers From FanDuel Over VIP Program

Last month, FanDuel partially responded to questions from Congress about its VIP Program, stemming from an incident involving a Bryce Harper video sent to a VIP patron, but left five questions unanswered.

Now, Congress is pushing back for more answers, sending another letter with the same eight questions as before. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee have responded to FanDuel's answers, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. The lawmakers also told FanDuel that their first response was a “complete failure to respond" and remain “unconvinced,” and also referred to their responses as “misleading and incomplete.”

Lawmakers Give FanDuel Sept. 17 Deadline

“We demand real answers to our previous letter and for FanDuel to explain this complete failure to respond to significant matters of public interest,” Blumenthal, Tonko and Foushee wrote.

Again, the letter is identical to the one originally sent on Aug. 10. 

“If FanDuel truly cared about its customers, it would be transparent to Congress about its business practices and put an end to these exploitative tactics. In light of FanDuel’s inadequate response, we demand that you provide a written response to the questions listed in our previous letter, no later than September 17th, 2026.”

Once again, those questions include the following: 

• What measures does FanDuel take to absolutely ensure that bettors are not suffering from financial hardships or a gambling addiction prior to enticing further gambling?
• What steps has FanDuel taken to monitor interactions between managers and VIPs to ensure that managers are not offering predatory offers to problem gamblers?
• How many VIP bettors have attempted to cut back their betting activity or close their accounts but were instead offered exclusive perks or offers? How many decided to keep betting after such offers?
• Does FanDuel ever target VIP promotions and perks to bettors who are on a losing streak or appear to be cutting back on wagering?
• How many times have VIP managers sent videos from players or other celebrities to a member in order to keep them engaged in gambling on the platform, and were those players made aware of the purpose of those videos?
• Does FanDuel ever coach or train its VIP managers to develop personal relationships with their clients in order to encourage more gambling?
• What specific factors does FanDuel consider when identifying “potentially problematic behaviors” and why has this allowed FanDuel to use its VIP program to encourage destructive gambling?
• In light of the clear dangers posed by FanDuel’s VIP program to problem gamblers, will FanDuel suspend or terminate this program?

Congress Questions FanDuel Predicts

Additionally, the lawmakers brought up FanDuel Predicts, a new prediction market platform FanDuel recently debuted. 

“FanDuel also boasts of its work with state regulators to meet requirements for licensed sportsbooks and other state laws on gambling yet fails to mention how its prediction markets app, FanDuel Predicts, undermines the integrity of—if not bypasses—those very regulations.”

FanDuel Predicts allows users to sign up at 18, which is different from the legal sports betting minimum age of 21. 

From here, we'll see if FanDuel responds.