Lawmakers Give FanDuel Until October 20 to Hand Over Its Celebrity VIP Videos

FanDuel has until October 20 to give three members of Congress a copy of every personalized celebrity video it has sent to its VIP bettors. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee made the demand in a letter to chief executive Christian Genetski on October 6. It came after FanDuel told them it had sent about 30 videos from athletes and entertainers over the last two years.

The three Democrats had already written to the sportsbook on August 10 and September 3. Their inquiry started with a Philadelphia Inquirer report in July that a FanDuel VIP host had sent a 21-second greeting from Phillies star Bryce Harper, recorded through the video service Cameo, to a customer with a gambling addiction.

Every Video, Every Loss Figure

The letter asks for a copy of each video and the story behind it. For every one, FanDuel is asked for the total the recipient had wagered beforehand and how much they’d won or lost. The lawmakers also want to know if that customer had ever asked to suspend the account, pause notifications or limit their gambling.

The letter also asks why the VIP host picked that bettor, which service supplied the video, and what the host did to check that the person wasn’t showing “signs of significant losses or economic hardship.” It asks how much each athlete or celebrity knew about the video’s connection to gambling.

The last request goes wider than the videos. The lawmakers want a description of the data FanDuel monitors to screen for problem gambling, and they ask if that same information is used to target bettors with push notifications, promotions and retention bonuses.

FanDuel Calls It a Thank-You

FanDuel, the brand its parent company Flutter calls number one in the world’s largest market, answered in a September 24 letter from Cory Fox, its senior vice president for public policy and sustainability. Fox wrote: “On occasion, FanDuel has arranged a personalized video message, almost always through publicly available services, as a token of appreciation for a customer’s loyalty in choosing FanDuel over its competitors.”

Fox said the videos are not used to “induce customers to continue gambling.” The Inquirer reported that the company declined to name the athletes and entertainers involved. He also wrote that the VIP program “serves only a small fraction of total FanDuel customers” and that its managers are trained to recognize and report signs of problem gambling.

The lawmakers don’t accept that. Their letter says Fox’s claim is “clearly contradicted by the fact that the video of Mr. Harper that gave rise to these concerns was sent to an individual that had lost $1.5 million on bets on your platform.”

Harper Says He Never Agreed

The Associated Press reported that Harper wrote on social media on July 13: “I did not know FanDuel would do this. I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.” He added that he wouldn’t have made the video had he known FanDuel’s “true intent.” The Inquirer reported in August that the MLB Players Association told the three lawmakers it supports barring players from personalized marketing for sportsbook VIP programs.

The Lawsuit Behind the Inquiry

The customer is Terry Thompson, of Montgomery County in the Philadelphia suburbs. The nonprofit Public Health Advocacy Institute sued on behalf of Thompson and a second bettor, Christopher Sage, on March 24 in the Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania trial court. The defendants are FanDuel, DraftKings, the NFL and the data company Genius Sports, and the Inquirer reported in September that all four have asked for the case to be dismissed.

Thompson alleges he wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel alone. Across FanDuel and DraftKings, the Inquirer reported from court records, he wagered more than $22 million in five years and lost more than $1.8 million. The suit alleges the two companies’ apps are “intentionally designed to maximize addiction.” Those are allegations, and the defendants are fighting them.

The lawsuit says that after gambling away the last of his money in February, Thompson planned to take his own life rather than tell his family how much he had lost. Anyone struggling with gambling harm can call or text 1-800-MY-RESET, the National Problem Gambling Helpline, and the 988 Lifeline takes calls and texts in a crisis.

DraftKings Is Next on the List

Blumenthal told Front Office Sports on October 7 that FanDuel’s letter “evasively dodges a lot of significant questions,” and added: “We will be asking questions of DraftKings as well as FanDuel.” He said prediction markets will get the same questions. DraftKings is already defending a proposed class action in Boston, filed on September 30 by a bettor named Daniel Vest.

Tonko and Blumenthal are also the sponsors of the SAFE Bet Act, which they reintroduced on March 11, 2025. It would make states that offer sports betting meet minimum federal standards on marketing, affordability and artificial intelligence. Tonko’s House version, H.R. 2087, is still listed at the first stage of the legislative process, which is where it was on the day it was introduced.