In a letter obtained by Sports Betting Dime, FanDuel told three members of Congress that its VIP sportsbook business sits inside the same responsible-gaming framework as the rest of its operation. The company also pointed to a $158 million responsible-gaming investment by its parent, Flutter Entertainment.
As reported on Aug. 12, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Paul Tonko and Valerie Foushee had already asked FanDuel to end its VIP program after a Bryce Harper Cameo message was sent to Terry Thompson, a bettor who said he lost about $1.5 million. Their letters also pressed MLB and the MLB Players Association over professional baseball players’ involvement in VIP sportsbook sponsorships, and Thompson’s lawyer has sued FanDuel and DraftKings, alleging the companies used games and VIP programs to keep him gambling despite an obvious addiction.
FanDuel said VIP customers do not face a different set of responsible-gaming rules. It said the program is built to operate within its broader framework, that VIP hosts are salaried and are not paid according to customer wagers or wagering results, and that the company operates licensed sportsbooks in 26 U.S. jurisdictions with regulatory requirements on promotion, monitoring and responses to signs of harm.
The company also said prospective VIP customers are screened before they are invited into the program. Its responsible-gaming team monitors deposit and withdrawal history, increases in wager size, cancelled withdrawals and comments made through in-app chat, then responds with education, mandatory limits, temporary suspension or permanent exclusion.
FanDuel said VIP account managers have regular touchpoints with customers about MySpend, limit-setting, timeouts and self-exclusion, and that every email they send includes responsible-gaming language and direct access to tools. Covers reported additional details: VIP account managers receive quarterly training sessions and refreshers, while every FanDuel employee completes responsible-gaming training within 30 days of joining and renews it annually.
The company also said any customer who tells it they have a gambling problem or addiction is immediately and permanently excluded from every FanDuel product, and that it does not encourage such customers to return. It said it is a founding member of the Responsible Online Gaming Association, which runs research and consumer-education work, maintains an independent data clearinghouse for self-excluded lists and has a certification standard that requires third-party audit, with members committing more than $20 million to the effort. The lawmakers had asked for written answers by Aug. 24.
