If you’ve watched sports at any time over the last decade or so, you’re familiar with DraftKings, a gambling company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally launched in 2012, it offers sportsbook and daily fantasy sports (DFS) services. By last year, DraftKings had over 3.5 million users.
The company is currently the defendant in a class action lawsuit – they’ve been accused of misleading new users into thinking the promotional offers they responded to were “financially more advantageous” than they were.
If you are one of these users, you may be eligible to join the class action.
DraftKings Class Action Lawsuit
Plaintiff Samantha Guery filed the class action lawsuit against DraftKings.
“DraftKings knew that new users could potentially be converted to long-term customers, which would be extremely profitable for the sportsbook,” her lawsuit states.
Guery is looking for other DraftKings users who wagered in the state of New York. Specifically, she wants to find users who utilized a DraftKings promotion that advertised a “risk free” bet and proceeded to lose the bet. According to the lawsuit, this offer required the user to place a bet with their own money. However, this money was allegedly not refunded if the bet was lost.
“The false promise of ‘risk-free’ bets was specifically designed to overcome many new users’ natural resistance to gambling and to grab market share in the newly legal sports betting industry,” the DraftKings class action lawsuit argues.
How To Join The Class Action Lawsuit Against DraftKings
Guery’s action claims that DraftKings violated the New York General Business Law. The suit is seeking a jury trial that and an award of damages for all class members.
In 2021, DraftKings paid out $8 million in various class action lawsuits. Among other things, DraftKings was accused of failing to adequately represent how difficult it is to win its daily fantasy sports contests.
Find out if you are eligible here.
How Do Class Action Lawsuits Work?
Class action law has evolved over the last few decades. But there are specific rules binding class actions, known as Rule 23 in the federal rules for civil procedures. The Legal Information Institute lays out what the court must find in order to approve a class action:
- The number of class members renders it impracticable to join them in the action
- The class members’ claims share common questions of law or fact
- The claims or defenses of the proposed class representatives are typical of those for the rest of the class, and
- The proposed class representatives will adequately protect the interests of the entire class.
In short, multiple plaintiffs must all have sufficiently similar claims of damage, such that a ruling would largely have the same affect on all class members. The question is then before the court: have all these plaintiffs indeed suffered similar harm from the defendant?
How Long Do Class Action Lawsuits Take
Again, the answer is: it depends on the case.
In some cases, the answer is 10 minutes! Defendants can try to end the case before it even begins by settling with the plaintiffs – typically this means payments. According to Top Class Actions, settlements can typically take up to nine months or a year.
However, if class actions go to trial, the timeline becomes years long – typically two or three years, according to the Cochran Firm.
