Baltimore sues draftKings, Fanduel, says misleading tactics

The city of Baltimore sued draftKings and Flutter Entertainment, the parent company Fanduel, accused sports books on Thursday of engaging in deceptive and unfair practices to target and use vulnerable players.

The complaint filed with Baltimore City Circuit Court, the State Court, claims that companies use misleading promotional actions to attract Bettors, then use data and analysts to keep betting of problem players, procedures stated to violate consumers’ protection regulations.

“These companies are involved in shady practices and people from our city literally pay the price,” said Baltimor Brandon Scott in the report. “Draftkings and Fanduel have specifically focused on our most vulnerable residents – including those who are facing gambling disorders – and have caused considerable damage. This court is a critical step towards their responsibility and protection of all Baltimorese.

Fanduel refused to comment while Draftkings did not provide a statement.

As the action outlines, companies acquire new users by offering bonus bets – money credits that can only be used in a sports book – as a reward for registration. According to the complaint, these bonus bets are often valid only for seven days, which supports frequent betting in the early stages.

“The defendants are not interested in merely immerse people in the water in the water: they want them to bet, in considerable quantities, again and again,” he reads the complaint. “Some turn away, and that’s the meaning.”

Once users have started betting, companies collect data and use data to identify those who are most likely to gamble more.

One company owned by the flutter gathered “at least 186 attributes for each bettor, including their susceptibility to gambling and susceptibility to marketing,” he reads the complaint. Some of these users are set up in SportsBooks VIP programs, where they are paired with hosts who provide them with exclusive offers and check with them “to bet as much as possible,” says the action.

Instead of focusing on problem players, he states lawsuits, sports books could use their data to identify and help them fight their addiction. “DraftKings and Fanduel could use their tros of user data forever if they want,” he reads.

It also quotes a study from the Center of Excellence of the University of Maryland in problem gambling, which found that 20.8% of online sports bet showed signs of disturbed gambling, compared to only 11.3% of Bettors’ personal sports.

Sportsbooks are so well known in this industry that Sharp Bettors “learned to imitate the behavior of problem players” to receive rewards and maintain higher betting limits, the action says.

The Court also notes that Flutter has introduced some protection in the UK, where it also affects that there is no control of financial vulnerabilities, limitation of VIP programs and restrictions on Bettors under 25 years of age. “These changes and others could help problem players and prevent Baltimoreans from developing and become a victim of gambling disorders,” he reads the complaint.

While individuals have made similar accusations in court disputes against the main companies for sports betting, Adam Levitt, Dicello Levitt, a law firm representing the mayor and the Baltimore City Council that this is the first case that the US public entity against the online sports book against the online sports book.

Levitt said that the city as Baltimore has an advantage in bringing a suit compared to individual Bettors who agree with the arbitration clause when logging into applications that basically prevent them from being part of the class court. “Public entities are not subject to these kinds of judges clauses,” he said. “Public entities can bring demands on the protection of their citizens for this type of unlawful conduct.”

Maryland legalized sports betting in 2021 and state sports books said they were leading nearly $ 5.4 billion in sports betting for the fiscal year, leading to income of more than $ 60 million.

In January 2025, Maryland Bettors bet more than $ 457 million on DraftKings and Fanduel, while their closest competitor, Betmgm, took $ 51 million. According to Maryland lottery and games, contributions to the state from sports betting are focused on blueprint for the future Maryland Fund that supports public educational programs. Since December 2021 he has contributed $ 143 million.

According to E -mail from Dicello Levitta, the city of Baltimore does not receive any direct income from sports betting. The city is looking for legal sanctions as well as judicial relief, which requires sports books to stop these practices and reform their platforms. Fanduel and draftKings have about 30 days to answer the complaint.