Lawmakers press FanDuel over VIP program, cite prediction market concerns
Three members of Congress renewed criticism of FanDuel's VIP program on September 3, 2026. Lawmakers called the company's earlier responses incomplete and gave it a September 17 deadline to provide additional information. They pointed to FanDuel Predicts, the company's prediction market product, arguing it undermines or bypasses existing regulations. The congressional letter raises fresh regulatory questions about the product's compliance framework.
FanDuel Predicts is now caught in a congressional squeeze that links VIP gambling practices to prediction market legitimacy. Lawmakers have weaponized the product as evidence that FanDuel can restructure around rules it finds inconvenient. For FanDuel, the September 17 deadline forces a choice: disclose VIP mechanisms that may confirm regulatory arbitrage, or stonewall and invite broader investigation.
The prediction market becomes collateral damage in a gambling oversight fight. If Congress hardens this framing into legislation, other platforms with dual sportsbook and event-contract businesses face identical exposure. DraftKings Predicts and similar hybrids must watch FanDuel's response closely, as any concession on Predicts sets a precedent Congress can apply across the sector.
Congressional scrutiny of FanDuel Predicts arrives as regulators and courts intensify pressure on event-contract platforms, with the CFTC warning prediction markets to drop American-style moneyline odds and multiple states chipping away at Kalshi's federal preemption shield.