DraftKings Sued Over a Betting Championship Oversight

DraftKings, a Boston-based company that specializes in the provision of fantasy sports contests and recently launched a sportsbook in West Virginia, has found itself in the middle of a lawsuit….

…after the first-ever Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC) that took place last week.

“Negligence” in the Organization

Christopher Leong, a contestant from New York, filed a lawsuit to the New Jersey Superior Court claiming that DraftKings failed to be on top of the organization of the event.

In the lawsuit, the company is accused of the violation of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act because they, according to Leong, failed to stay true to their betting rules.

Also, he stated that the others who placed their bets in DraftKings’ headquarters in Jersey city could get them settled faster than those who did the same via their online s.

Over $300.000 in Damages

Now, the contestant wants to get his $10.000 entry fee back, along with the treble damages, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages that can come up to a final score of $334,000.

“We are disheartened to see the gaming community lost so much time, energy and money on an event that was seeming operated in an arbitrary and capricious manner from the open of wagering through the placement of the final bet,” said Maurice VerStandig, Mr. Leong’s attorney.

“We look forward to pursuing our case on behalf of the event’s participants and have faith the legal system will deliver the justice to which they are entitled,“ he added.

DraftKings officials didn’t want to make a comment on those allegations since the lawsuit is still in the process.

DraftKings’ Apology

The famous daily fantasy sports provider offered a top prize of $1 million and a total purse of a $2.5 million at a Sports Betting National Championship.

But, because of some sort of a glitch, a leading competitor, Rufus Peabody, could not place his bets on the final NFL playoff game and his previous wagers have not been processed…

…so he missed a chance of winning a top prize. That is why DraftKings issued an official apology.

“The first-ever Sports Betting National Championship was an incredibly thrilling event. We recognize that in the rules the scheduled end of betting coincided very closely to the finish of the of Patriots-Chargers game,” James Chisholm, director of DraftKings public affairs explained.

“While we must follow our contest rules, we sincerely apologize for the experience several customers had where their bets were not graded in time to allow wagering on the Saints-Eagles game. We will learn from this experience and improve upon the rules and experience for a future event,“ Mr. Chrisholm added.

More Lawsuits?

Christopher Leong’s attorney asserted that he would like other contestants who feel betrayed by the organizer to the class action.

Rufus Peabody stated on his Twitter that he is still considering all his options when it comes to suing DraftKings for their negligence…

…because obviously, he wasn’t the only affected contestant.

The official winner of the Sports Betting National Championship was Randy Lee from New Jersey, who took home the main prize of $1 million dollars.

Source:

“Negligent’ DraftKings sued over betting championship”, igamingbusiness.com, January 18, 2019.

“DraftKings apologizes for betting championship furore“, igamingbusiness.com, January 14, 2019.