DraftKings Sued for ‘Risk-Free’ Marketing Language, Plaintiff Alleges Sportsbook Duped Consumers

DraftKings is named as a defendant in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in New York s Southern District federal court for the sportsbook s alleged deceptive marking practices.

Bronx resident Samantha Guery is the plaintiff and proposes on behalf of all others similarly impacted by DraftKings financial damages plus punitive and statutory compensation for claimed injuries inflicted by . Guery s attorneys allege DraftKings misled consumers by advertising risk-free first bets up to $1,000 that were anything but risk-free.

DraftKings deliberately did not communicate that customers availing themselves of the Risk-Free Bet promotion would only be credited with a Free Bet. The $1,000 Risk-Free Bet offered … made no suggestion that the Risk-Free Bet would be turned into a Free Bet that was, in fact, far less valuable than the same figure in U.S. dollars, the complaint read.

Guery s proposed class-action lawsuit qualifies anyone who registered an account with DraftKings in New York and participated in a risk-free promotion. The litigation is seeking a jury trial.

Guery signed up with DraftKings in July 2023 and made what she thought was a . The wager lost, and that s when the plaintiff says she realized her money wasn t simply going to be returned.

DraftKings instead credited Guery s account with free bet credits in the same amount as her original losing wager. Her lawsuit contends that the credited money doesn t function the same as cash on the sportsbook platform.

Free bet credits cannot be withdrawn until they re wagered. A winning bet on a credit wager also only returns the net win in cash to the player, not also the credit that was used to place the bet.

In simpler terms, a $100 winning cash bet on -110 odds would return $190.91 to the player s account. With a winning credit bet on the same line, the account would receive only $90.91 back in cash that would be available for withdrawal.

The Free Bet is worth less than half of the initial bet, the explained. The difference renders the supposed risk-free promotion anything but risk-free.

Guery s attorneys say DraftKings knowingly deceived consumers by including the dollar symbol in its promotional materials while understanding that a free bet credit is unlike traditional money in its monetizing capabilities.   

Sportsbooks have faced scrutiny in recent years from federal and state lawmakers, as well as gaming regulators, for . Numerous states now prohibit sportsbooks from running adverts that include wording like risk-free or free bet.  

Last year, $150K in Ohio for its risk-free language.

If something is claiming to be free or risk-free, then it has to absolutely not require the patron to incur any loss or risk their own money, explained Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Matthew Schuler. We are not supportive of trying to put the truth in small print.

In New York, state Attorney General Letitia James is also a critic of risk-free sportsbook advertising.

New Yorkers have been bombarded with misleading ads … that claim risk-free bets and $1,000 welcome offers, which sound like free money but often come with strings attached without consumers awareness, James said in a 2022 consumer alert.