DraftKings Lawsuit Over “Misleading” Risk-Free Wagers Dropped by Plaintiff

DraftKings has been in a tough spot. It mistakenly sent an email to its users that there had been an issue with their golf bets (even though many players had not bet on golf), causing a surge of panicked users to log in and temporarily overload the websites.

DraftKings Gets Relief in New York Class-Action Lawsuit

Then, its biggest competitor – FanDuel, somewhat smugly announced that it would not be rolling out “surcharge,” a previously proposed measure designed to prop up ailing finances in some high-stake taxes, forcing DraftKings to reactively withdraw its plans for such a surcharge only hours later in what turned out to be a public relations nightmare.

Now, though, DraftKings has got a bit of good news coming its way, after Samantha Guery, who alleged in a lawsuit that DraftKings had misled her and others with its “risk-free” promotions, has decided to drop the case against the betting giant.

At the time, Guery argued that the amount offered by DraftKings as a “risk-free wager” did not match the deposit amount, thus misleading customers. It’s not yet clear why Guery has decided to withdraw. She was first very difficult to contact, her legal team informed the court and DraftKings. Her legal team made nine attempts to contact her – none of which succeeded.

There were rumors that Guery’s health issues had got in the way. Eventually, Guery got in touch with her legal team and agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case. In the meantime, DraftKings said that it needed more time to prepare a response to the original complaint – something that may now be no longer necessary.

More Trouble Over Risk-Free Wagers Ahead

However, Guery is not the only class-action lawsuit that DraftKings is facing, as a similar case is currently moving along in Massachusetts, where the company stands accused of similarly having played fast and loose with the term “risk-free.”

The case has been brought up by the Public Health Advocacy Institute which has criticized the use of “risk-free” in marketing materials because of falsely creating the impression that players do not stand to lose their own money (they do).

In the meantime, a broader debate has begun in the United States with lawmakers rallying behind the idea of completely suspending the usage of such wording in gambling promotions.