Today, attorneys from the Chicago-based civil rights law firm of Loevy + Loevy filed a new class-action lawsuit on behalf of five individual Pennsylvania plaintiffs against the online gambling site DraftKings. The suit—filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania—alleges that the online sportsbook deceives users and misleads them into betting and losing large amounts of money, in violation of state and federal laws.
With this complaint, Pennsylvania joins a growing list of jurisdictions—including Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York—where Loevy is suing the online giant over deceptive practices.
DraftKings is the most dominant player in Pennsylvania’s internet gambling industry and has driven much of its growth over the past few years. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has said that online casino operators brought in over $2.18 billion of revenue in 2024. Online sportsbooks brought in another half a billion in revenue in the state.
“DraftKings is earning enormous amounts of revenue by misleading and addicting its users,” the complaint contends. “DraftKings’s business model has long involved pushing the boundaries of the law, misleading consumers, and luring naïve gamblers into developing addictions.”
Among the many allegations in the lawsuit, the complaint states that DraftKings knowingly and intentionally targets individuals with gambling addictions, including users who are on state “self-exclusion” lists for addicted gamblers, and users who had previously directly asked the company to suspend or close their accounts to help them stop gambling. DraftKings not only allows these players to gamble but actively solicits them to gamble larger and larger sums of money despite knowing they are struggling to control their gambling addictions.
At the core of today’s lawsuit are specific DraftKings promotions that the plaintiffs allege are deceptive and hide features that are designed to inculcate problem gambling habits in new users. These include DraftKings’ so-called “Risk-Free Bets,” which lead new customers to believe they can place a bet without risking losing their money, and the company’s widely publicized deposit match offers. In reality, the fine-print terms of these promotions lure new users to deposit and gamble almost exclusively with their own money, which they almost always lose.
Particularly misleading, the attorneys for the plaintiffs say, is DraftKings’ much publicized “Casino Deposit Match Promotion,” which promises to match 100% of a customer’s deposit, up to $2,000. In reality, the complaint alleges, these matching funds are contingent upon complicated “playthrough requirements,” which can require players to bet 20-30 times the combined deposit and match amounts within a seven-day window. Thus, someone depositing $2,000 to get a $2,000 match would be required to bet a further $40,000 within seven days. And if they do not gamble that much, they lose all the money in their account associated with the promotion, including their initial deposit.
“These deceitful promotions are designed to turn casual gamblers into serious addicts,” says attorney Isaac Green.
What’s worse, players who want to opt out of the bonus program after discovering the extensive playthrough requirements have another shock coming: They can forfeit the bonus—but doing so means they forfeit their initial deposit also.
The lawsuit also alleges that, rather than cutting a user off when they begin showing signs of a gambling problem, DraftKings pairs them with personalized “VIP Hosts” who—acting as if they were friends—milk them for every dollar they have. VIP Hosts deploy a specific playbook of tactics, such as contacting their assigned users when they have not logged on to the platform for a few days—or have just experienced a sizeable loss—and luring them back with offers of promotions that require them to deposit more of their own money and place more bets.
Plaintiffs are represented by Michael Kanovitz, Jon Loevy, Isaac Green, and Aaron Tucek of the law firm of Loevy + Loevy. The lawsuit charges DraftKings with violating several state laws—including violations of several sections of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law that protect consumers against deceptive practices and false advertising—and asks for injunctive relief and damages related to DraftKings widespread and ongoing deception of its customers.
“DraftKings attracts new users and keeps existing users coming back by advertising an all-upside gambling experience,” the complaint says. “In reality, DraftKings has created an all-upside opportunity only for itself.”
For a copy of the complaint in this case, click here.
