Lawyers Who Won Against Meta and Google File New Lawsuit Against Sportsbooks

(AsiaGameHub) –   Attorneys responsible for a pivotal legal victory against Meta and Google have turned their attention to sports betting operators, filing a new suit against FanDuel and DraftKings in Massachusetts.

Jennifer Hoekstra, a partner with the law firm Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, who contributed to discovery and briefing in the California social media litigation, is spearheading the new action.

She is heading a personal injury lawsuit that contends the companies deliberately target at-risk individuals, for instance during late-night hours or following significant losses.

“They develop and personalize themselves to the individual user,” Hoekstra informed ESPN. “The algorithm identifies you and your interests when you log in. It appears, making it increasingly addictive for that individual.“

Plaintiff Wagered Millions of Dollars

According to the legal filing, the anonymous plaintiff placed bets totaling $3 million on FanDuel from 2023 to 2025. While the exact loss amount is unspecified, the complaint indicates his gambling grew into “an unmanageable addiction to the defendants’ sports betting platforms.”

His escalating gambling habit led him to quit his job, and he is currently receiving treatment for addiction. Mirroring another suit filed this week, DraftKings and FanDuel provided him with VIP hosts.

In the other case, the two plaintiffs sustained losses exceeding $2 million on the platforms. Hoekstra stated that her new lawsuit concentrates on physical injury, not financial harm.

Using Social Media Arguments

The core argument that succeeded in the social media lawsuit was that the product was deliberately engineered to be habit-forming.

Hoekstra is applying a similar legal strategy against the gambling firms.

“We’re claiming that there is an actual physical harm that is being done through the addiction,” Hoekstra explained. “This is what distinguishes our case: the allegation of a defective product that was intentionally and defectively designed to cause this injury.”

The suit alleges DraftKings and FanDuel profit from problem gamblers. It references a Connecticut study indicating 51% of sports betting revenue in the state is generated by 2% of players, who are classified as problem gamblers.

An earlier lawsuit against DraftKings presented data suggesting 42% of the company’s total revenue originates from roughly 3.8% of its user base.

Will ‘Intentionally’ Addictive Argument Work Again?

In the Meta case, the plaintiff received $6 million in damages after jurors determined that Meta and Google had intentionally created addictive social media platforms that damaged the 20-year-old’s mental health.

However, past rulings have found that gambling companies owe no duty of care to compulsive gamblers. Recently, a Pennsylvania judge dismissed a separate lawsuit against DraftKings.

In his decision, he stated, “The Court finds that DraftKings has no duty of care to protect Plaintiffs from spending too much money or from developing or fueling a gambling addiction.”

Similar to the two new suits, the dismissed complaint claimed that VIP hosts had promoted further losses. The judge determined that the hosts did not control the betting or make decisions for the individuals.

“Encouraging them to place bets is insufficient to create a fiduciary relationship,” the judge wrote.

A fiduciary relationship is a legal association of trust where one party (the fiduciary) acts for the benefit of another. Because individuals bet voluntarily, the VIP hosts and companies are not held legally accountable.

While DraftKings was previously fined $450,000 in Massachusetts for a clear breach of state law regarding credit card deposits, the new lawsuits confront the greater challenge of proving the companies are liable for a gambler’s losses.