DraftKings Lawsuit 2026: Gambling Addiction Claims & Updates

DraftKings is facing lawsuits from people who say that the platform and its promotions were designed to create addiction. Plaintiffs who have filed cases say that they suffered catastrophic losses after “risk-free” promotions, constant notifications and pressure from VIP hosts encouraged nonstop gambling.

People who have filed lawsuits generally lost $10,000 or more through DraftKings. Other popular platforms like FanDuel and BetMGM are facing similar online gambling lawsuits.

Some DraftKings lawsuits argue that offers of “risk-free” bets and other promotions are significantly misleading.

DraftKings has advertised a “Risk-Free” or “No Sweat Bet” promotion for new signups, promising Bonus Bets to customers who lose their first wager. Lawsuits claim that these bets are not risk-free at all.

When you sign up for a risk-free bet, you deposit your own money to make your first wager. If you lose that bet, then DraftKings credits you with “Bonus Bets.” The promotion generally suggests your original bet was risk-free since DraftKings credits you even if you lose.

But it’s not that simple. The Bonus Bet is not real money and cannot be converted into U.S. dollars. It also expires after several days. And even if you do use it and win a wager, the payout is significantly less than it would have been had you used real money.

A wager with a Bonus Bet does not pay back the original stake, only the winnings. Lawsuits point out that a $100 bet made at even odds on DraftKings would pay out $191 if you win. That exact wager made with a Bonus Bet would only pay out $91.

“DraftKings attracts new customers and keeps existing customers coming back by advertising an all-upside gambling experience, falsely promising customers that they will get free money that they can wager without any risk,” lawsuits state. “In reality, DraftKings has created an all upside opportunity only for itself.”

Other DraftKings promotions that lawsuits claim are misleading include an offer to match a new customer’s first deposit up to $1,000. In reality, a customer can only receive that $1,000 if they deposit at least $5,000 initially, wager at least $25,000 within 90 days and place certain long-shot bets that have low odds of success.

DraftKings uses VIP hosts, individuals assigned to encourage high-volume gamblers to keep betting.

In addition to sending regular promotional offers and perks to encourage more gambling, lawsuits claim that VIP hosts also acted as if they were friends with the gamblers they were assigned to. Lawsuits argue that this relationship-building was “part of a broader strategy by DraftKings to instill brand loyalty” and encourage the customer to place more wagers.

Lawsuits report instances where gamblers chose to place themselves on their state’s self-exclusion list but then continued to receive messages from their assigned VIP host encouraging them to return to DraftKings.

“DraftKings’ and the DraftKings VIP Hosts’ actions were done with wanton and willful disregard of persons who foreseeably might be harmed by their acts,” one lawsuit claims.

Lawsuits argue that DraftKings intentionally funneled its customers towards microbetting, also known as prop bets. Traditional sports gambling usually involves picking the winner of a game or guessing how much a team will win or lose by.

Microbetting dramatically expands the world of sports betting, allowing customers to place wagers on a virtually endless menu of in-game outcomes. This can range from how many points an individual player will score, all the way down to betting on individual shots and pitches.

Instead of needing to place bets before a game begins, gamblers can make a constant stream of new bets on various outcomes over the course of the game. Most wagers placed through sportsbetting apps are now microbets, and lawsuits claim that DraftKings intentionally pushes its customers toward this type of gambling.

Research published in Springer Nature in 2023 showed that microbetting is connected to “severe problem gambling and impulsivity.”

You may qualify to file a DraftKings lawsuit if you or a loved one used the app, gambled extensively and suffered significant financial losses.

This usually means that you lost $10,000 or more while using the app, but every case is different.

Some people who have filed lawsuits say that they were drawn in by misleading promotions or promises of risk-free bets and matching deposits.

A lawyer can assess your situation and help determine if you qualify to file a case.

Litigation against DraftKings and other sports betting platforms like FanDuel and BetMGM is still in the early stages. Many of these lawsuits were filed in recent months.

That means a global settlement for these cases could still be far off, as they must still work their way through the legal process.

Legal industry estimates suggest that an individual payout from an online gambling lawsuit settlement could range from $15,000 to $300,000 or more. It’s important to remember that these figures are just projections.

Every lawsuit is different, and the individual details of each case will play a big role in determining potential settlement amounts.

You can file a DraftKings lawsuit by getting in touch with a trusted law firm for case review. They can speak with you, learn more about your case and help determine if you are eligible for a lawsuit.

From there, a law firm can handle the actual filing and litigating of your case. They will lean on their expertise to determine how to best assemble your case and which court it should be filed in.

Evidence You May Need

To successfully file a DraftKings lawsuit, you will likely need evidence that you used the app and suffered significant financial losses through it. This may include financial documentation.

You do not need to have been diagnosed with gambling addiction to file a lawsuit, but a diagnosis can still be helpful evidence for your case.

If you aren’t sure how to gather evidence, a lawyer can help. They have significant experience with cases like this and can assist you in tracking down the records that you might need.

Gambling disorder is a real, diagnosable condition that can have devastating consequences. When left unchecked, gambling addiction can result in severe financial losses, including bankruptcy, housing foreclosures and more.

Not all forms of gambling qualify as an addiction. But it can become a problem when the gambler begins struggling to control their betting, thinks about it all the time or continues to pile up massive losses that they can’t afford.

Microbetting in particular can be dangerous for gambling addiction, since it allows constant new wagers and repetitive access to the dopamine hits gamblers receive when they secure a win.

For many decades, most Americans had relatively limited access to gambling. Sports betting was illegal in most states and usually confined to brick-and-mortar locations. This meant that most people could only place bets by traveling to a casino or sportsbook.

These locations also usually didn’t offer a significant range of betting options. Gamblers could wager on the outcome of a game and not much else. Those bets also had to be placed before a game began.

The nature of sports betting changed practically overnight as the first online sportsbooks launched in 2019.

Today, DraftKings and platforms like it offer easy, constant access to a never-ending stream of gambling options. Gamblers no longer have to worry about traveling to a physical location, adhering to its hours of operation or getting all wagers in before a game begins.

People now have unfettered access to an endless array of gambling options 24 hours a day. In addition to increased access, the advent of microbetting allows for constant bets at any point during a sporting event.

Gone are the days of only betting on which team will win a game or how many points they may win by. DraftKings’ users can place money on everything from how many rebounds a basketball player will have to whether a pitch in a baseball game will be a ball or a strike.