FanDuel Vermont: Legal — Priciest of Three Bids

FanDuel Vermont: Legal, and the Highest Bidder of Three

FanDuel Vermont is a legal, licensed sportsbook, but it got there through a process most FanDuel states skip entirely: a competitive bid where Vermont picked exactly three winners and FanDuel offered the state the biggest cut of revenue to be one of them. That detail, not a legal gray area, is the thing worth understanding before opening the app.

Legal status in Vermont

Vermont legalized online sports betting under H.127, signed by Governor Phil Scott on June 14, 2023. Rather than license any operator that applied, the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery ran a competitive bidding process in 2023 and selected exactly three sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics. Mobile wagering went live for all three on January 11, 2024. Vermont is mobile-only — the law never authorized a retail sportsbook, so there is no physical counter anywhere in the state. FanDuel bid 33% of adjusted gross revenue in state tax, the highest of the three winners; DraftKings and Fanatics both bid 31%. FanDuel does not offer online casino in Vermont — that product exists in only five US states (Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia), and Vermont is not one of them.

State gambling authority: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL), which ran the 2023 sportsbook bid and licenses all three operators.

FanDuel Vermont is legal, and it got there by being the most expensive bid Vermont received. In June 2023 Governor Phil Scott signed H.127, legalizing online sports betting statewide — but the Department of Liquor and Lottery didn’t throw the market open to every operator that wanted in. It ran a competitive bid instead, and picked exactly three winners: FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics. FanDuel offered the state 33% of adjusted gross revenue in tax, two points above what DraftKings and Fanatics each bid.

Is FanDuel Legal in Vermont? Yes, Since January 2024

All three licensed sportsbooks launched together on January 11, 2024. There was no soft rollout and no staggered schedule — the market simply didn’t exist before that date and has had the same three operators since. Compare that to a state like New Jersey, where a dozen-plus brands compete for the same bettors; Vermont never intended that kind of crowded field.

What each operator bid: FanDuel, 33% of adjusted gross revenue. DraftKings and Fanatics, 31% each. Vermont weighed the bid amount directly when choosing winners, so FanDuel’s higher number was part of the pitch that won it a license, not a surprise tax hike that showed up later.

No Casino, No Retail Counter

Two things a reader coming from a bigger FanDuel state should know. First, Vermont’s law only ever covered sports betting — online casino was never part of it, and FanDuel Casino only operates in five states nationwide, none of them Vermont. Second, the market is mobile-only. There’s no retail sportsbook window to walk into anywhere in the state, unlike neighboring New Hampshire, which pairs its single-operator app with four physical counters.

Who Can Actually Bet, and on What

Vermont sets its general gambling age at 18 but carves out a higher floor for sports betting specifically: 21. The law also bars wagers on Vermont high school athletics outright, a protection aimed at keeping betting money away from the state’s own student athletes. Both rules live inside H.127 itself, so they apply the same way across all three licensed apps, FanDuel included.

FanDuel is legitimately licensed, DLL-regulated, and safe to use in Vermont by the normal measures: geolocation, a state regulator with enforcement teeth, and a public bid record anyone can check. It is also a smaller, pricier market than most FanDuel states, and the state picked it that way on purpose. Treat any deposit as entertainment spending, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, 1-800-GAMBLER is free and confidential.

FanDuel Vermont — Frequently Asked Questions

Is FanDuel legal in Vermont?

Yes. H.127 legalized online sports betting in June 2023, and FanDuel has operated as one of exactly three licensed sportsbooks since the market launched January 11, 2024. The Department of Liquor and Lottery ran a competitive bid rather than an open license process, and FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics were the only three selected.

Why did FanDuel pay more tax to operate in Vermont?

Because the state picked winners partly on the tax rate each bidder offered. FanDuel bid 33% of adjusted gross revenue, two points higher than the 31% DraftKings and Fanatics each offered. Vermont's bid process weighed that figure directly, so FanDuel's higher offer was part of what won it a license rather than a cost imposed afterward.

Is FanDuel legit in Vermont if the state only allowed three operators?

Yes — a state-run competitive bid is a stricter filter than an open license, not a sign of a shadier market. Vermont vetted all three operators on terms and price before any of them took a bet, and FanDuel answers to the same Department of Liquor and Lottery that licenses DraftKings and Fanatics. There is no fourth app because no other bidder cleared the process, not because FanDuel blocked competition.

Is FanDuel safe to use in Vermont?

Yes, in the standard regulated sense: a state license, mandatory geolocation confirming the bettor is physically in Vermont, and a named regulator — the DLL — that can fine or pull the license. Vermont also bars betting on its own high school sports and sets the sports-betting age at 21, a point higher than the state's general 18-and-up gambling age.

Does FanDuel have a casino app in Vermont?

No. FanDuel Casino operates in only five states nationwide — Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia — and Vermont's 2023 law only ever authorized sports betting, not online casino games. Anyone searching for a FanDuel slots or table-games app in Vermont will not find one.

Is there a retail FanDuel sportsbook in Vermont?

No. Vermont authorized mobile wagering only, so there is no FanDuel counter, kiosk, or physical sportsbook anywhere in the state. The app is the entire legal product, the same mobile-only structure Tennessee and Wyoming use.