Disputes about gambling businesses, betting products and the rules governing them.
Published coverage on this page: 1 case · 16 statements. Statements are ordered newest first.
EFF and Senator Richard Blumenthal call DraftKings' alleged AI promotion targeting exploitative. The company denies targeting customers based on losses or gambling-risk indicators. Massachusetts regulators are reviewing operators' AI use.
Published
Read the caseLabels describe a response to the linked claim or the action explained in the statement summary. Choose one or more.
16 matching statements
Role at the time: Office, through spokesperson Molly McGlynn
Statement summary
The office criticizes potential technology-driven exploitation of vulnerable gamblers.
“allegations raise serious concerns”
What this label refers to
It criticizes alleged exploitation without finding that misconduct occurred.
Role at the time: Massachusetts state auditor
Statement summary
DiZoglio says the allegations are concerning and unacceptable if substantiated.
“if substantiated, completely unacceptable”
What this label refers to
Her criticism of alleged targeting expressly depends on substantiation.
Role at the time: Company, through spokesperson Park Winslow
Statement summary
DraftKings denies AI targeting based on losses or problem-gambling indicators.
“DraftKings does not use AI to target customers based on losses”
What this label refers to
The company denies the alleged conduct rather than justifying it.
Role at the time: Gambling-policy advocacy organization
Statement summary
Stop Predatory Gambling calls DraftKings' model predatory and accuses Massachusetts regulators of downplaying it.
“the Massachusetts Gambling Commission downplayed DraftKings' predatory AI model designed to target addicted gamblers.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Criticizes both the alleged model and the regulator's response; the model itself remains explicitly condemned.
Role at the time: DraftKings co-founder and chief executive officer, interviewed at TheGrill
Response to this claim
DraftKings does not build models to target customers with problem-gambling issues for additional promotions.
“We don’t try to target them and give them more promotions to spend more.”
Robins says the alleged targeting does not occur. That is a denial of conduct, not an argument that targeting vulnerable gamblers would be justified.
Role at the time: Founder of Populist Solutions
Statement summary
Jon Schweppe accuses DraftKings of using AI to extract money from problem gamblers and calls for congressional and consumer-protection enforcement.
“find the biggest losers, i.e. the problem gamblers, and take ‘em for all they’ve got.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Explicit critical interpretation and enforcement argument target the alleged exploitation.
Role at the time: Artificial-intelligence researcher
Statement summary
Pamela Mishkin treats DraftKings' targeting of vulnerable people as an example of present AI harm and calls for developer liability.
“The HF agents aren't so different from the systems DraftKings uses to target vulnerable people.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Her full post evaluates the named targeting as harm and argues developers should be liable; it is not bare reporting.
Role at the time: Former California State Assembly member
Statement summary
Marc Levine calls AI targeting of losing bettors predatory and urges restrictions on gambling advertising and sponsorships.
“predatory behavior of targeting betting losers with AI. It's like marketing liquor to alcoholics.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Explicit predatory evaluation and alcohol-addiction comparison criticize the conduct.
Role at the time: Digital civil-liberties organization, in an article by Devanshi Nishar
Response to this claim
DraftKings' AI-selected promotions exploit customers' gambling vulnerability for profit.
“DraftKings is capitalizing on their vulnerability for profit instead of mitigating their risk.”
EFF criticizes the alleged promotion targeting itself as exploitation of gambling vulnerability. Its proposed advertising ban is a remedy, not a defense of that conduct.
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Connecticut
Response to this claim
DraftKings' AI-selected promotions exploit customers' gambling vulnerability for profit.
“They relentlessly foster addiction & relapse. Let’s pass my SAFE Bet Act to ban this AI exploitation outright.”
Blumenthal calls the alleged targeting exploitation and says it promotes addiction and relapse. This directly criticizes the conduct under scrutiny.
Role at the time: InGame columnist
Statement summary
Jeff Edelstein argues that DraftKings should not be held to a higher moral standard than other businesses marketing potentially harmful products.
“but I don’t see why this behavior is uniquely scandalous.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. He excuses the reported practice through a substantive ordinary-business and equal-standards argument. Discomfort is retained as context, not a materially conditional conclusion. This is more than merely disputing a headline.
Role at the time: Gambling-policy advocacy organization
Statement summary
Stop Predatory Gambling accuses DraftKings of using AI to direct promotions toward vulnerable gamblers.
“DraftKings weaponized AI to optimize its $3 billion promotional budget, targeting vulnerable addicts to drive company growth.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Its own description of weaponizing AI against vulnerable gamblers criticizes the conduct.
Role at the time: Executive director of the Campaign for New York Health
Statement summary
Melanie D'Arrigo accuses DraftKings of exploiting gambling addiction for profit and says the practice should be illegal.
“DraftKings is using AI to find and exploit users with gambling addictions to boost their profits.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Explicit criticism of exploitation and demand for prohibition establish rejection of the practice.
Role at the time: Philosophy professor and author
Statement summary
Peg O'Connor calls DraftKings' reported targeting deeply exploitative and criticizes placing responsibility for addiction entirely on gamblers.
“On a moral level, it is deeply exploitative”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. Explicit moral criticism of the reported targeting. Her observation that it makes economic sense does not endorse its acceptability.
Role at the time: Historian and political commentator
Statement summary
Christo Aivalis calls for gambling operators to be regulated as utilities and prohibited from banning winning players.
“But 1 practical way to punish these fuckers would be to regulate them as utilities”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. His own punitive evaluation applies to the reported DraftKings conduct. The policy proposal is not the sole basis for condemnation.
Role at the time: Author and political commentator
Statement summary
David Moscrop calls for imprisonment in response to the Times' account of DraftKings targeting losing gamblers.
“Lock them up and forget they exist.”
What this label refers to
Reference point: DraftKings' alleged use of AI-targeted promotions to exploit vulnerable gamblers. The demand for punishment expresses rejection of the reported conduct.
Diana DiZoglio is the Massachusetts state auditor and a former state legislator. Her office audits state agencies, departments and vendors to examine public spending and compliance.
1 case and 1 statement
Jason Robins is a co-founder, chief executive officer and board chairman of DraftKings, the Boston-based sports and gaming company launched in 2012.
1 case and 1 statement
Jon Schweppe is a conservative policy advocate and founder of Populist Solutions. He has worked at the Federal Trade Commission and the American Principles Project.
1 case and 1 statement
Pamela Mishkin is an artificial-intelligence researcher who has worked at OpenAI. Her research includes the economic effects and safety of language models.
1 case and 1 statement
Marc Levine is a former California State Assembly member who represented Marin and Sonoma counties from 2012 to 2022. He previously served on the San Rafael City Council.
1 case and 1 statement
United States Senator (Democratic) from Connecticut.
1 case and 1 statement
Jeff Edelstein is an American journalist and columnist who covers gambling for InGame. He has also written for The Trentonian and publishes personal essays on Substack.
1 case and 1 statement
Melanie D'Arrigo is a New York health-care advocate and former congressional candidate. She is executive director of the Campaign for New York Health.
1 case and 1 statement
Peg O'Connor is a philosophy professor at Gustavus Adolphus College and an author who writes about ethics, addiction and recovery.
1 case and 1 statement
Christo Aivalis is a Canadian historian and political commentator who writes about Canadian politics and labour. He holds a doctorate in Canadian history from Queen's University.
1 case and 1 statement
David Moscrop is a Canadian author, political commentator and podcast host. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of British Columbia.
1 case and 1 statement
