- Lawmakers requested information from FanDuel regarding their personal videos of famous athletes and celebrities that were sent to VIP program members.
- Information was requested to see if FanDuel sent videos to encourage people with a gambling problem to continue betting on the platform.
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers have requested that FanDuel provide them with more information regarding their 30+ personalized videos that they had famous athletes and entertainers record for their VIP bettors.
The letter, written by Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) and U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (New York) and Valerie Foushee (North Carolina), was sent to the company in response to a letter sent on September 24 by FanDuel’s Senior Vice President Cory Fox.
In the letter sent by Fox, it was stated that the legal sports betting platform had sent VIP bettors “approximately 30 such videos of athletes and entertainers over the last two years.” The videos were sent by FanDuel as a reward for loyalty to their VIP bettors.
The letter sent by the lawmakers to FanDuel President Christian Genetski states that it has contradicted itself when it says that it does not encourage customers to continue gambling, yet it sends videos of famous athletes to high-roller gamblers who are part of its VIP program.
One example of where that contradiction may be evident is in the case of Terry Thompson. Allegedly, Thompson lost $1.5 million over several years on FanDuel. As a perk, the sportsbook sent him a personalized video from Bryce Harper.
Thompson is now suing FanDuel and DraftKings for using VIP programs in order to ensure that he continues to gamble on the platforms. He claims that they preyed on him despite a clear gambling addiction.
Harper has said since the video was shared that he did not know what the purpose of the video he created was, and that he didn’t know it would be for commercial use.
The letter by Blumenthal, Tonko, and Foushee requests that FanDuel provide:
- Copies of all the personalized videos sent to VIP bettors from FanDuel
- Information regarding the circumstances for each video (i.e., how much the receiver of the video had bet, whether there had ever been requests for problem gambling resources by the receiver, why the receiver of the video was chosen, and if the FanDuel VIP host took any steps to avoid problem gambling issues with their client)
- How aware the athlete or entertainer was of what the video was going to be used for
- What tools FanDuel uses to screen for problem gambling
Blumenthal, Tonko, and Foushee’s letter requests the information by October 20, 2026.
