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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) wants more specifics from FanDuel about its VIP bettor program, and he tells Front Office Sports he intends to demand similar information from DraftKings and prediction-market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Blumenthal has been engaged in a back-and-forth with FanDuel since this summer, after a personalized message MLB star Bryce Harper recorded in November 2024 for a man deep in gambling debt became public. The video, which FanDuel purchased through video-sharing platform Cameo, had been sent as part of FanDuel’s VIP bettor program.
The latest update in that saga came Tuesday, when Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko (D., N.Y.) and Valerie Foushee (D., N.C.) issued a letter saying FanDuel has failed to adequately address their questions, including which other athletes and celebrities sent videos to VIP bettors and what safeguards FanDuel has in place to ensure it’s not enticing problem gamblers to keep betting.
“They owe us more specifics,” Blumenthal tells FOS. “They owe the public more specifics.”
He’s referring to a four-page letter FanDuel sent Sept. 24 highlighting its focus on responsible gaming and customer protection. The company said it “shares your commitment to protecting bettors from harmful gambling,” and that it will continue to invest in “robust responsible gaming technology and education designed to protect our customers.”
The letter also revealed Harper is not the only athlete who has been used as part of the VIP bettor program, which is one of the loyalty programs sportsbooks typically use to attract and retain high-volume bettors. FanDuel has sent roughly 30 videos of athletes and entertainers over the last two years, it said, although it didn’t offer further specifics.
FOS previously reported Cameo and FanDuel have a partnership under which Cameo videos can be purchased for VIP bettors. A source familiar with the matter tells FOS that there is no formal partnership, but instead FanDuel has used Cameo for Business, which allows companies to sign up and either commit to a certain amount of spend or buy individual videos at any time. FanDuel is one of “thousands” of Cameo for Business customers, the source says. Others include DraftKings, Bud Light, and McDonald’s.
Blumenthal tells FOS he felt FanDuel’s letter “evasively dodges a lot of significant questions.”
While Blumenthal remains focused on getting FanDuel to offer more specifics, there are other companies in his sights as well.
“We will be asking questions of DraftKings as well as FanDuel,” he tells FOS. “And by the way, we’ll be asking the same questions about prediction markets.”
Blumenthal is skeptical that, as prediction markets say, they’re fundamentally different from traditional sports betting and should be regulated at the federal, not state, level. In March, he and Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) introduced the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act, which would establish safeguards against insider trading and market manipulation and ban markets on war, death, and military action.
Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana tells FOS that the company does not offer targeted promotions, offers, or bonuses when customers lose. Kalshi does have a loyalty program that offers benefits to VIP users, such as access to merchandise and referral incentives.
Kalshi doesn’t take users’ “wins and losses into account,” she says. “By definition, a VIP at a sportsbook or casino is a losing customer or someone they expect to lose. That’s because the gaming industry only makes money when people lose.”
Diana is alluding to the idea that in traditional sports betting, sportsbooks act as “the house” by setting the price for a bet, serving as the counterparty to the customer, and determining the price if that customer wants to exit a wager before it has settled. In prediction markets, the platforms themselves create the markets, and market makers such as Susquehanna Group provide liquidity by posting bid and ask prices for contracts, which allows customers to buy or sell even when another trader isn’t immediately available to take the opposite side. Kalshi, DraftKings, and FanDuel all have their own market-making arms, although the companies say those are separate businesses that don’t give them an informational or trading advantage.
A Polymarket spokesperson directed FOS to a recent announcement about new user protection and responsible trading tools, such as voluntary self-exclusion, deposit limits, and access to mental health resources.
Representatives for DraftKings and FanDuel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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