Louisiana plaintiffs sue DraftKings and FanDuel over sportsbook app design

A proposed class-action complaint was filed in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans by three Louisiana residents against DraftKings, FanDuel, Bally's Baton Rouge and Amelia Belle. The suit claims the operators' mobile sports betting apps are defective and do not adequately warn consumers about addiction. Filed on Oct. 22, it asks for a jury trial and for the return of every deposit the plaintiffs made on the online sportsbooks. As of the report, no response to the complaint had been submitted by DraftKings or FanDuel.

Adrian Payton, Toi Smith and Yolanda Perkins are listed as the initial plaintiffs. Bally's Baton Rouge and Amelia Belle were added as defendants because each casino serves as the market-access partner for one of the online sportsbooks in Louisiana. According to the complaint, the defendants' conduct is unfair, deceptive, abusive and willful, runs against public policy, and is prohibited by law, including the Louisiana Sports Wagering Act.

The complaint contends that DraftKings and FanDuel use AI-backed personalisation to keep losing bettors wagering, and that they use user data to identify and target users who appear to have gambling disorders. It alleges the operators ignore or bypass self-exclusion and responsible gaming tools. The lawsuit further alleges that the apps lack adequate warnings about their "highly addictive nature," including conspicuous, medically accurate warnings detailing the addictive potential of the interfaces, and that the operators were aware of the addictiveness through their own customer data tracking yet failed to take reasonable steps to warn users.

The plaintiffs also allege violations of the Louisiana Products Liability Act, which the complaint describes as the state's exclusive remedy for damages over a defective product. Under the statute, a plaintiff must show that a product contains an unreasonably dangerous defect, that the manufacturer knowingly permitted it, and that the defect caused physical or financial harm, and must prove one of four defects: construction or composition, design, inadequate warning, or breach of express warranty.

The report says industry observers anticipate the defendants will ask for dismissal with prejudice, arguing that no state statute requires operators to monitor what consumers spend. It adds that both platforms depend on lengthy terms of service in which users must acknowledge gambling risks and give up civil recourse. DraftKings' user agreement, for instance, obliges customers to "indemnify, protect, defend and hold harmless DraftKings" against third-party claims and the legal costs that come with them.