DraftKings and FanDuel have been hit with a new lawsuit in Massachusetts accusing them of building sportsbook apps that push users deeper into compulsive gambling. The case was filed in Suffolk Superior Court by Daniel Arroyo, who says the products were made to keep bettors active through constant access, tailored prompts, and aggressive retention tactics.
The filing came just days after a separate Pennsylvania suit targeted the same issue from a different angle. That earlier case, backed by the Public Health Advocacy Institute, focused on live microbetting and also named the NFL and Genius Sports.
Massachusetts suit says the apps were built to keep bettors chasing losses
Arroyo’s complaint says the two operators used personalized data, push notifications, promotions, and VIP-style engagement to keep him betting after losses. It argues that the apps were not just easy to use, but were shaped in a way that removed pauses and encouraged repeated wagering. According to reports on the filing, Arroyo says he lost about $160,000 on FanDuel and about $20,000 on DraftKings, and is now in treatment for gambling addiction.
The suit leans on the same type of product-design argument now turning up more often in gambling litigation. Instead of focusing only on ads or bonus offers, it says the harm sits inside the structure of the apps themselves.
A recent Pennsylvania ruling went the other way
The new case lands at a time when courts have not shown much appetite for that argument. In a separate federal case in Pennsylvania, Judge Joseph Leeson Jr. dismissed negligence and product-liability claims against DraftKings, writing that the company had no duty of care to protect users from spending too much money or from developing or fueling a gambling addiction.
That opinion also said Pennsylvania’s gambling laws and regulations were detailed enough that any new duty of care should come from lawmakers, not the courts. The judge dismissed most claims with prejudice.
The new suit keeps pressure on a legal theory that still faces resistance
That does not end this line of attack. With the Massachusetts filing now following the Pennsylvania microbetting case, DraftKings and FanDuel are facing a fresh attempt to cast sportsbook design itself as the problem.
The question now is whether state courts are willing to take a different view from the recent federal ruling, or whether these claims keep running into the same legal wall.
