DraftKings tells Congress it sent one personalised Miles McBride Cameo to a customer

DraftKings told members of the US Congress it sent a single personalised Cameo video from New York Knicks guard Miles “Deuce” McBride to a customer and denied deliberately targeting problem gamblers. The company supplied that response on Nov. 5 after an Oct. 22 request from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Valerie Foushee and Rep. Paul Tonko probing use of AI, VIP practices and athlete or celebrity videos.

What DraftKings told lawmakers

DraftKings confirmed in its Nov. 5 letter that the platform sent one Cameo of Miles McBride to an eligible DraftKings Rewards customer. The company said this instance was handled by its loyalty team and described personalised athlete content as not a general practice: “As a general practice, DraftKings does not rely upon personalised content from professional athletes or major celebrities as an incentive for eligible DraftKings Rewards customers.”

The Nov. 5 response addressed whether DraftKings uses AI to track and target customers. DraftKings stated it uses data science and machine learning to target promotions based on customer preferences and characterised that as “a basic marketing practice,” but added that it does not use generative or agentic AI to tailor promotional offers based on customer gambling activity.

DraftKings also explicitly denied targeting marketing or promotions toward users who show indicators of potential problem gambling. The letter said, “DraftKings does not target anyone based on indicators of potential problem gaming, nor does it seek to identify the customers most likely to lose and get them to bet more.”

VIP programme, hosts and customer contact

The company explained that customers are automatically enrolled in DraftKings Rewards at sign-up and that higher tiers provide eligible customers with perks, which can include assignment of personal hosts. DraftKings said hosts have discretion to tailor offers for individual customers using information about playing habits, but that the process is not automated and relies on what it described as “human judgment.”

When asked whether VIP managers are coached to develop personal relationships to encourage more gambling, DraftKings said the primary goals of host interactions are to keep customers engaged and encourage long-term retention. The operator declined to provide “average loss/gain” data for DraftKings Rewards users on grounds the information is “competitively sensitive.”

The company described a number of responsible-gambling measures it maintains, including a “multi-layered Responsible Engagement program” combining in-app tools and resources, automated behavioural monitoring, customer engagements and review by trained personnel; a Chief Responsible Gaming Officer on its C-suite team; mandatory annual responsible engagement training for employees; maintaining lists of customers ineligible for promotions due to self-exclusion, self-enforced cool-off periods or opt-outs; and a requirement that VIP hosts conduct a Responsible Engagement Check on 10 randomly assigned client customers each month.

Context from the congressional inquiry

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) sent letters to multiple operators on Oct. 22 asking how they use AI, VIP programmes and athlete or celebrity videos, and set a Nov. 5 response deadline. Other recipients named in the legislators’ outreach included BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, Kalshi and Polymarket.

The lawmakers broadened their probe after public scrutiny of FanDuel’s outreach using athlete videos. FanDuel told the legislators in an Oct. 20 letter that it had sent roughly 30 similar videos over the previous two years and characterised that outreach as “customer-appreciation gestures and were not commissioned or sent to induce continued gambling.” FanDuel’s outreach included a video featuring Bryce Harper that attracted media attention because it was sent to a former VIP member known to have struggled with gambling.

State-level and regulatory follow-up

Federal scrutiny is mirrored by state regulators. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission asked licensed sportsbooks to explain by Nov. 3 how they use AI in marketing, promotions, customer outreach and evaluation of gambling behaviours; the commission initiated that request after chairman Jordan Maynard said it would investigate customer-facing AI use.

New York’s gambling regulator has proposed measures restricting use of AI and algorithmic profiling to personalise promotions for sportsbook licensees. The office of Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced plans for new “AI principles” that include assessing whether to ban operators from targeting users showing problem-gambling patterns.

SBC Americas sought confirmation from other companies named in the congressional letters; a Fanatics Betting and Gaming spokesperson confirmed the operator replied to legislators before the Nov. 5 deadline.

"DraftKings does not target anyone based on indicators of potential problem gaming," the company's letter to Congress states. — DraftKings

"As a general practice, DraftKings does not rely upon personalised content from professional athletes or major celebrities... We are only aware of the loyalty team sending one Cameo of Miles McBride – an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks – to a customer." — DraftKings