FanDuel invites VIP gamblers and their children to Halloween celebration at Philadelphia Zoo
Addiction experts said the offer of a benefit that could be enjoyed by children of heavy gamblers, in a family-centric setting, is troubling, and raises new questions over how VIP programs operate.
For months, FanDuel has faced scrutiny from members of Congress over the rewards that it has provided to VIP bettors, including personalized videos of Phillies star Bryce Harper and about 30 other athletes and entertainers.
The online sportsbook recently extended a new offer to some of its VIP customers: an opportunity to bring their kids to the Philadelphia Zoo on Saturday for its annual “Boo at the Zoo” festivities, promising in an email “the perfect combination of Halloween fun, family entertainment, and VIP treatment for all ages.”
A digital flyer for the event, obtained by The Inquirer, shows that the perk also includes complimentary parking passes, and lunch and snacks at the zoo’s Garden Pavilion for the sportsbook’s VIP customers and up to three guests. The flyer notes that FanDuel will have a registration table near the zoo’s entrance.
“Kids and adults can get into the spirit with face painting, personalized caricature drawings, and explore the zoo in costume as part of the beloved Boo at the Zoo tradition,” reads one passage of the flyer.
Addiction experts said the offer of a benefit that could be enjoyed by children of heavy gamblers, in a family-centric setting, is troubling, and raises new questions over how VIP programs operate.
“So, this is a bad idea,” said Timothy Fong, the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. “Maybe someone in the zoo’s offices doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Even if [FanDuel] pays a good chunk of money, the zoo still has a choice to say no.”
Fong said this particular VIP reward could create “a brand value” with a family that is able to visit the zoo specifically because of FanDuel. “I’m not castigating them,” he said, “but [FanDuel] is an adult product for people who are 21 and up.”
A spokesperson for the zoo did not respond Monday to a request for comment. Messages left for John Ginter, chairman of the zoo’s board of directors, and Jo-Elle Mogerman, its president and CEO, were not immediately returned.
On its website, zoo admission tickets for two adults, two children, and a parking pass for Oct. 24 would normally cost $134.
In an email Monday, a FanDuel spokesperson wrote: “FanDuel is not a sponsor of ‘Boo at the Zoo’ and there is no FanDuel branding on site. FanDuel has played no role in the planning or execution of this event and purchased tickets through normal channels to give customers the option of attending.
“Like many consumer companies, we offer our most loyal customers a range of complimentary benefits. Examples include access to museum exhibits; tickets for sports and cultural events; and priority restaurant reservations.”
The flyer, however, describes the offer as a “Boo at the Zoo VIP Event” with “lasting memories in true FanDuel VIP style.”
Doug Harbach, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, said on Monday that “providing a benefit to someone under 21 years old is a matter in which we may request more info, and we’re looking into this particular situation to see if that is occurring.”
The board doesn’t review in advance rewards that gambling companies might offer their customers, Harbach said. “At the same time, in the normal course of our regulatory processes, a promotion is subject to audit.”
Longtime addiction counselors have said that Pennsylvania is the epicenter of a gambling addiction crisis. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have found that between 2.4% and 6.4% of Pennsylvanians might be problem gamblers — more than double the reported national average of 1% to 3%.
Pennsylvania recorded $7.7 billion in overall gambling revenue in 2025, a sum that trailed only Nevada, while the Philadelphia media market last year outpaced even Las Vegas and New York City for gambling advertisements.
Sportsbooks have expanded into other corners of everyday life with sponsorship arrangements. Last fall, when SEPTA enacted service cuts amid a budget crisis, FanDuel paid $80,000 to cover the operating cost of express trains on the Broad Street Line during and after an Eagles game against the Dallas Cowboys, while DraftKings recently paid for visitors’ parking at a state fair in Texas.
But Cort M. Dorn-Medeiros, an addiction expert and professor in the Counseling, Therapy, and School Psychology department at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., said a kid-friendly zoo event — which includes the promise of a free lunch and “spooktacular snacks” — represents a dangerous escalation.
“It’s the desensitization and targeting of a market that is not yet in your realm, but very soon could be, and a very lucrative target population,” Dorn-Medeiros said.
A 2025 Common Sense Media survey of 1,017 boys ages 11 to 17 found that 36% had participated in some form of gambling during the previous year. At least 49% reported that they had encountered gambling content on social media, and nearly 60% said the content appeared even when they had not searched for it.
“An event like this, nothing happens by accident,” Dorn-Medeiros said. “I think these companies know what they’re doing. They can present it as appreciation for customers, but why are children involved? Why is it being held in a venue that clearly is for children?”
Three members of Congress have since August accused FanDuel of using its VIP rewards to “drive bettors into debt and addiction” and called on the company to end such programs, citing The Inquirer’s reporting about a VIP account manager who in 2024 sent a video of Harper personally greeting a local bettor who had an addiction and his young son.
In a written response to the lawmakers’ criticism, a FanDuel executive insisted that the company’s customer rewards are “not designed to encourage destructive gambling,” and that its VIP managers are trained to recognize and report signs of problem betting.
Frank James, a psychiatrist with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the general idea of a gambling company being involved with a kid-friendly event is reminiscent of how the tobacco industry once found creative ways to market chewing tobacco and cigarettes to adolescents.
The Inquirer is investigating how the rise of the multi-billion dollar sports gambling and prediction market industries are affecting public health and professional sports. Read more of our coverage:
· Bryce Harper addresses controversy over his video to FanDuel VIP bettor
· In Pennsylvania, the epicenter of online gambling, anger over addiction and loss fuels a backlash
· MLBPA supports banning players from promoting sportsbook VIP programs
· As the betting industry grows, kids as young as 11 are getting hooked
· He wrote the book on sports gambling's rise. Here's what he thinks you should know.
In 1998, the four largest tobacco companies — facing nationwide litigation over the harm their products caused to consumers’ health — entered into a master settlement agreement with the National Association of Attorneys General. The companies paid more than $200 billion to 46 states, including Pennsylvania, and were prohibited from marketing their products to adolescents.
“We learned from this when it came to cigarettes and kids. We need to look at what we learned in the past and maybe apply it to gaming and gambling,” James said. “I think if [Boo at the Zoo] was sponsored by a tobacco company we would have a different reaction to it.”
Brian Carr, a former president and chief operating officer of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, said that it’s not unusual for brick-and-mortar casinos to do charitable outreach to seniors or veterans, or to sponsor a booth or a stage at a music festival.
Such efforts were clearly “focused on adults,” Carr said. “It was always an unspoken rule that you didn’t do anything with kids.”
Carr, now a casino consultant, said that if he still operated a gambling entity, he “wouldn’t be comfortable signing off” on a bettor reward that could potentially involve children.
“If someone brought it to me,” he said, “I’d be like, ‘No.’”
The Inquirer will continue to report on issues related to the growth of gambling addiction — among teens and adults — across Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, wants to speak with a reporter, please contact David Gambacorta or William Bender at dgambacorta@inquirer.com and wbender@inquirer.com
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