DraftKings continued to send a ProPublica reporter gambling promotions after he deliberately adopted wagering patterns associated with uncontrolled betting and used the company’s responsible-gaming tools to cap his time and deposits. The reporter was later invited into a three-week VIP Showcase and ultimately accepted into the company’s VIP programme, receiving a personal concierge.
The 10-week experiment was designed to mimic behaviours associated with problem gambling, ProPublica reported. Over a six-week period, the reporter progressed from $40 recreational bets to occasional wagers of $1,500, betting across sports, chasing losses and playing online casino blackjack. Before applying limits, he had spent about $12,500 on DraftKings.
During the French Open, he placed 64 tennis bets in two hours and received a “BET & GET” offer during the spree. On another occasion, after moving almost $4,500 from his bank account into DraftKings and approaching that amount in losses over 24 hours, the app notified him: “Take a loss? Now take a beat.”
He then followed the prompt and set a two-hour daily app limit and a $100 ceiling on deposits over 24 hours. Thirty minutes later, DraftKings sent the first of four promotional alerts he received that day.
The report documented a similar sequence on May 7. Following further parlay losses, the app showed a responsible-gaming pop-up urging him to set a budget or spending limits. Hours later, he was offered a 20% profit boost on unlimited live microbets of up to $250 on baseball plate appearances. The promotion urged customers to “Bet, settle, repeat!”
DraftKings describes betting limits as central to making money from sports betting without encouraging addiction. Lori Kalani, the company’s chief responsible gaming officer, said DraftKings monitors accounts and can proactively close those displaying too many warning signs, though it did not disclose how often it does so. Kalani said she would take the reporter’s experience of being prompted to pause and then marketed to back to her team, while cautioning against broad conclusions from one account.
The reporter’s loss chasing included a Knicks-Hawks playoff game in which increasingly large deposits and bets left him $1,710 down for the night. After he lost nearly $1,800 betting on basketball, DraftKings invited him to the VIP Showcase, which offered a new promotion each week while the company assessed whether he was a high spender or professional bettor.
He qualified for VIP status after three weeks and $5,800 in deposits, and was formally accepted two weeks after his first major loss-chasing episode. His representative promised account-tailored opportunities and perks, alongside responsible-gaming reminders. DraftKings’ loyalty system awards credits more quickly for greater spending on long-odds wagers, with tiers from bronze through Onyx.
As we reported Sept. 16, DraftKings has separately promoted its responsible-engagement tools through a PGA TOUR prize draw for customers who use budgeting and account-control features.
The episode arrives amid wider scrutiny of VIP retention practices. A Massachusetts Gaming Commission review found that sportsbooks generally extended VIP rewards to customers who frequently lost while restricting regular winners. The commission said research associated VIP programmes with higher-risk gambling and found that VIP customers were more likely to be problem gamblers; chair Jordan Maynard said such programmes should serve people who can afford them and “shouldn’t be predatory.”
A separate Massachusetts audit identified 51 cases of sports-wagering advertising reaching underage people or individuals affected by gambling addiction between March 2023 and March 2024. It also found 17 advertisements that omitted the state problem-gambling helpline and one promotion requiring bets on 10 consecutive days, despite GameSense guidance recommending no more than four betting days a month.
The policy debate has expanded as legal sports betting has spread. Since the Supreme Court opened the way for state legalisation in 2018, Americans have wagered more than $600 billion, and sports betting is now legal in 39 states and Washington, D.C. About one-quarter of active sportsbook account holders surveyed by the Siena Research Institute said gambling losses had made it difficult to meet financial obligations.
New York requires mobile sportsbooks to notify users once total deposits reach $2,500 and to submit plans describing how they identify suspected problem-gambling behaviour and provide information on available resources. ProPublica is seeking betting histories from DraftKings and FanDuel users to examine when apps send boosts, VIP invitations and responsible-gaming notices.
