Two U.S. senators are asking the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to open an antitrust investigation into online betting platforms DraftKings and FanDuel.
Sens. Mike Lee, a Republican from Texas, and Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, wrote the letter dated Thursday asking the departments to investigate whether the two companies are conspiring to freeze out competitors.
The lawmakers said after a merger of the two platforms was blocked in 2016, "it seems that FanDuel and DraftKings have arguably acted as one company, violating our antitrust laws."
The letter, posted to Lee's X page, says the two companies have worked together to "exert pressure on smaller rivals to stymie market access."
"This reportedly includes interfering with their rivals' relationships with major sports leagues, marketing partners, payment processing companies and critical vendors," the senators write in the letter.
Lee and Welch say enforcement of antitrust laws protects customers, "something that is especially important in a new industry like sports betting where the risk of addiction is far greater than most industries."
FanDuel had no comment when reached by the International Business Times.
DraftKings did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
