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FanDuel, one of the largest sports betting companies in the US, says it conducted 58,000 manual responsible gaming reviews over the past year. The company laid out how it spots possible problem gambling on its Fast Facts webpage in early November, according to Legal Sports Report.
The disclosure comes as Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., continue to question whether FanDuel does enough to protect bettors. The lawmakers have been pressing the company since August. The page does not address FanDuel’s VIP program, the focus of their inquiry.
How FanDuel says it flags at-risk bettors
FanDuel says it uses machine learning and risk scoring to look for warning signs. These include:
- Unusual deposits
- Excessive time on the site
- Chasing losses (betting more to win back money already lost)
- Concerning conversations with customer service
Trained staff then manually review flagged accounts against set criteria to decide whether a customer is at risk. Depending on the outcome, a customer may receive responsible gambling education, have limits placed on deposits or bets, or be barred from FanDuel entirely. The company also refers at-risk customers to free mental health services from partners, including Kindbridge Behavioral Services.
Cory Fox, FanDuel’s senior vice president of public policy and sustainability, described similar safeguards to the lawmakers in an August letter. Customers can set their own alerts and caps on deposits, bets, losses and time spent on the platform, Fox wrote. He added that FanDuel’s Responsible Gaming team also watches for signs such as canceled withdrawals and chat messages that suggest distress or a gambling problem.
The company’s response can range from educational outreach to a mandatory limit, a temporary suspension or a permanent ban. Fox said FanDuel permanently bars customers who acknowledge a gambling problem from all its products and does not encourage them to return.
What lawmakers are still asking
The lawmakers’ concerns center on a 2024 personalized video message from Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper that a FanDuel VIP account manager sent to a bettor with a gambling addiction. Harper has said he did not know the company planned to use the video for business purposes.
In a Sept. 24 letter, Fox disclosed that FanDuel has sent about 30 similar videos from athletes and entertainers over the past two years. He said they were not meant to induce more gambling and that VIP managers are trained to recognize signs of problem gambling.
On Oct. 6, the lawmakers demanded copies of each video by Oct. 20. They also said FanDuel has not shown whether the data it uses to monitor for problem gambling is also used to target bettors with promotions.
FanDuel’s spending and betting data
FanDuel used the Fast Facts page to argue that most bettors spend modestly. A 2025 NerdWallet study put the median sports bettor’s monthly gambling spending at about $63, meaning half of bettors spend more and half spend less. FanDuel compared that with the $329 a month the average American spends dining out, based on US Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The company also pointed to research in the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing showing that most bettors wager infrequently:
- 84% bet once a month or less.
- About 9% bet weekly.
- 5% bet several times a week.
- 2% bet daily.
FanDuel said its own data shows similar trends:
- The average Same Game Parlay, a single bet combining several outcomes from one game, is about $14.
- 90% of Same Game Parlays cost $30 or less, and 60% cost $5 or less.
- The average sportsbook user deposits less than once a week.
Identity checks and underage safeguards
FanDuel compares signing up for an account to opening a bank account. Every customer must provide a name, date of birth and Social Security number, and new users must complete a thorough identity verification process.
The company says it immediately closes any account used for underage or proxy betting, where someone places wagers on another person’s behalf, under a “zero-tolerance policy.” It also reports such cases to law enforcement or regulators when required.
