We are investigating potential unfair and deceptive practices by DraftKings in the way it promotes and prices pre-built bets. DraftKings highlights certain bets within its app, encouraging users—especially inexperienced bettors—to place them with a single tap. However, these pre-built bets often pay significantly less than identical bets that users could manually create.
For example, DraftKings may promote a bet on Player X to score more than 15.5 points at odds of $1.45, while a manually constructed bet on the same player to score 16 or more points pays $1.30. Since basketball does not allow half-points, these bets are functionally identical—yet DraftKings offers a much lower payout for the promoted bet. On a $1,000 wager, this discrepancy can lead to $150 in lost potential winnings.
Evidence of Manipulated Payouts
- Widespread Discrepancies: Bettors who construct the same bets manually often receive approximately 10% better payouts than those who select the pre-built bets featured by DraftKings.
- Consumer Confusion: Many users, particularly novices, are unaware of this difference and unknowingly accept the lower-paying bet.
- Comparison with Competitor: A similar betting platform offers pre-built and manually created bets with minimal differences in payouts (e.g., a $10 difference per $1,000 bet instead of DraftKings’ $150 difference), suggesting DraftKings is deliberately inflating its margin.
Legal Implications
If DraftKings is intentionally steering users toward lower-value bets without transparent disclosure, this practice could constitute unfair or deceptive business practices under consumer protection laws. We are investigating whether affected bettors may have legal claims.
Next Steps
If you have placed bets on DraftKings and believe you may have been affected by these practices, please contact us. We are gathering evidence and may pursue legal action to hold DraftKings accountable.
Experience Matters
Sauder Schelkopf has a nationally recognized litigation practice. The firm currently serves as court-appointed lead counsel in courts across the country. The attorneys at Sauder Schelkopf have recovered over $1 billion on behalf of their clients and class members. Our firm was recognized by the Legal Intelligencer’s 2022 Professional Excellence Awards. The Legal Intelligencer’s Professional Excellence Awards honor Pennsylvania law firms and attorneys who have made a significant, positive impact on the legal profession. Our firm was named in the Litigation Departments of the Year (Specialty Area category; runner-up), an award that honors the best litigation practice in a small or mid-sized firm in Pennsylvania. This recognition was based on the firm’s 2021 litigation work and its important ongoing cases. LawDragon has recognized our attorneys in its list of the “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2022. This list notes: “From the opioid epidemic to toxic substances and defective products, truck accidents to wildfires and sexual abuse, these are the lawyers who stand on the front line in individual lawsuits and class actions seeking justice.” Mr. Schelkopf was named to Pennsylvania’s Best Lawyers® 2022 for Class Actions/Mass Tort Litigation. The American Lawyer named Mr. Sauder to its 2021 Northeast Trailblazers. The honor recognizes 60 lawyers who are “truly agents of change.” It “recognizes professionals in the Northeast who have moved the needle in the legal industry.” The Legal Intelligencer named Mr. Sauder and Mr. Schelkopf in its 2020 Pennsylvania Trailblazers list recognizing 31 lawyers who “have taken extra measures to contribute to positive outcomes . . . and who are truly agents of change.” The Legal highlighted the firm’s innovative work on advocacy as class counsel in large institutional sex abuse cover-ups, women’s, and children’s rights. Our attorneys have also consistently been recognized by their peers being named to Pennsylvania SuperLawyer, a distinction held by the top 5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania. The National Trial Lawyers Association has also selected our attorneys as the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania.
We Want to Hear from You
If you have placed bets on DraftKings and believe you may have been affected by these practices, you can contact the attorneys at Sauder Schelkopf by filling out the form on this page.