A New Jersey woman claims that DraftKings knowingly coerced and enabled her estranged spouse to deposit more money than he had and encourage his gambling problem.
Lisa D’Alessandro filed the lawsuit in New Jersey state court, identifying herself and the two children she shares with her husband as plaintiffs.
She is suing DraftKings for allegedly breaching the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. D’Alessandro said her husband, identified in court documents purely by his DraftKings username Mdallo1990, lost over $940,000 on the site over the course of three years.
Suit says DraftKings actively encouraged addicted man to gamble
“To be clear, this suit does not allege liability on the basis that Defendants passively permitted a problem gambler to use its gambling platform. Rather, this suit alleges violation of New Jersey statutory and common law because Defendants actively participated in the addiction of Mdallo1990 by targeting him with incentives, bonuses, and other gifts to create, nurture, expedite, and/or exacerbate his addiction,” the complaint argued.
D’Alessandro noted that DraftKings employees are trained in identifying those prone to gambling harm, but seemingly not only failed to stop Mdallo1990 from betting, but encouraged him to continue through additional offers and VIP status.
She also alleged the site failed to adhere to anti-money laundering practices by failing to establish proof of funds for Mdallo1990’s growing deposits. Had they done so, they would have noticed that he earned around $175,000 a year based on his tax forms, but deposited 87% of that amount in 2021, 300% of that amount in 2022 and 440% of that amount in 2024.
The claim also noted that the size of Mdallo1990’s deposits grew substantially over three years, indicating an obvious problem.
Woman says husband stole child’s baptism presents to gamble
She also said her husband stole from their child when he was a newborn, stealing money and gifts from his baptism to use on the app. D’Alessandro said the DraftKings VIP team affirmed and, in some instances, congratulated Mdallo1990 for the amount he was depositing on the site.
She is seeking the return of the money her husband lost on the site.
A similar case is playing out in the federal courts and, to date, the online gambling site has been on the winning side.
In that case, Sam A Antar alleged that BetMGM and Borgata Casino similarly encouraged him to gamble beyond his means and enabled his gambling addiction.
Similar case ruled casino is not obligated to stop problem gamblers
A New Jersey District Court judge ruled that BetMGM was not in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act because it was not applicable in that case. Rather, the New Jersey Casino Control Act was the prevailing piece of legislation within that cas, and under that law, the casino was under no obligation to stop problem gamblers from wagering with money they do not have.
That case is currently under appeal in the First Circuit Court.
