FanDuel Says VIP Cameos Not Designed To Induce Betting

FanDuel has told three members of Congress that about 30 personalised celebrity videos sent to VIP customers were customer-appreciation gestures and were not commissioned or sent to induce continued gambling. 

The operator made the statement in an October 20, 2026 letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Reps. Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), the latest exchange in a months-long back-and-forth over its VIP program.

What The Letter Said

The letter answers the lawmakers' October 6 request for information about FanDuel's VIP program and the Cameo videos it has sent to a small number of VIP customers. FanDuel said it identified approximately thirty Cameos involving athletes or entertainers, sent over the two-year period covered by its earlier response.

The company described the VIP program as a way to provide enhanced service and encourage customers who choose to wager to use FanDuel rather than another platform, comparable to loyalty programs in many industries. It said the personalised gestures fall under its wider responsible gaming framework.

FanDuel added examples of how that framework operates. If a customer asks to close an account, the company helps them do so. If a customer tells FanDuel or a VIP account manager they are trying to reduce their play, FanDuel helps them use responsible gaming tools or refers the account to its Responsible Gaming team for evaluation and, where appropriate, further action. Its stated goal is a customer base that plays at a level that is right for them, not maximum wagering.

The letter also said the lawmakers' requests seek highly sensitive account-level information, such as individual wagering history, and that FanDuel has obligations to protect customers' personal and financial information. Based on the letter text reviewed, it does not indicate FanDuel supplied copies of the videos.

How The Exchange Got Here

The correspondence began with the lawmakers' August 10 letter. FanDuel replied on August 14, and the lawmakers wrote again on September 3. FanDuel's September 24 response said the VIP program serves only a small fraction of customers and exists to build loyalty so a customer is more likely to choose FanDuel over another option, including federally regulated prediction market companies that also run VIP programs.

That September letter also addressed how FanDuel Predicts, the company's prediction market platform, sits within a separate federal regulatory structure and what standards govern its marketing and promotions.

Why It Matters For Bettors

VIP and loyalty perks are standard across the US market, but regulators and lawmakers have been asking harder questions about how hosts choose recipients and whether perks reach people showing signs of harm. FanDuel's position is that its safeguards apply to every personalised gesture. 

Players who use any US sportsbook can check which responsible gaming tools are available, and our report on operators advocating for safe gambling practices covers earlier industry commitments.

The lawmakers have not said publicly how they will respond to FanDuel declining to release account-level data. Watch for a further letter, a request to other operators about their VIP programs, or hearing activity. For now the exchange remains a correspondence rather than a formal investigation.