A prominent Florida lawyer whose firm was involved in an earlier win in court against Meta, has recently filed 15 lawsuits against America’s two largest online sports gambling platforms, FanDuel and DraftKings, alleging that the gambling apps were designed to addict. The claims focus on app features and customer-retention practices including push notifications, bonus alerts, personalised outreach and VIP programmes.
Attorney Jennifer Hoekstra likened the claims to a California social-media case decided in March, in which a jury found Meta and YouTube negligent and awarded damages of $4.2 million and $1.8 million, respectively. She stated that her clients have essentially lost their houses, spouses, and kids through gambling.
According to data from the American Gaming Association, the amount wagered on online sports betting reached $167 billion last year. However, a UCLA study found that in states that legalized online sports gambling, bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies increased about 25%. A survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling also revealed that nearly 20 million American adults (about 8% of the national population) reported experiencing at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior in the past year.
A CBS News investigation found that gaming companies are using sophisticated data operations and luxury VIP perks to keep customers betting. A former FanDuel employee disclosed that the company’s data collection capabilities are among the best, capable of precisely detecting whether user activity is fading and sending push notifications at the right time to draw players back. Even when realizing customers might be betting too much, some employees look away due to performance considerations.
Louis Ruggiero, a podcaster and recovering gambling addict, revealed that after he lost $100,000 on FanDuel in three months, they offered to make him a VIP bettor. He strongly criticized the practice, stating, “This is not VIP treatment. This is predatory retention disguised as hospitality.”
Facing the allegations, FanDuel firmly denied the claims, stating that it invested $158 million on responsible gaming last year and removed 5,700 users from the platform due to their gambling behavior. DraftKings stated it cannot comment on pending litigation, but emphasized that all company employees are trained on responsible engagement annually. The Sports Betting Alliance also responded, saying that problem gambling represents an extreme minority of cases, and platforms provide a suite of tools, such as wager and loss limits, for users to self-manage.
