DraftKings sued after father-of-two gambles away $1 million of his family’s money

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Online sports betting is now legal in a majority of US states But “Mdallo” did not develop his crippling addiction organically, according to D’Alessandro’s complaint. The hosts began by providing Mdallo incentives such as free bets and credits to cover his losses, in addition to gifts and trophies “for depositing money and gambling at levels far beyond his means.” At the same time, customer-facing DraftKings employees are trained to recognize the signs of gambling addiction, and are taught that “a problem gambler will use any and all funds to which he has access to continue gambling — including and especially the funds of immediate family members,” the complaint contends. Still, it says the VIP Hosts “were instructed and/or incentivized to avoid providing information on addicted gambling resources to customers who exhibited symptoms of gambling addiction.” open image in gallery Lisa D’Alessandro says DraftKings knew her husband was a problem gambler, and turned him into a full-blown addict “To be clear, this suit does not allege liability on the basis that Defendants passively permitted a problem gambler to use its gambling platform,” the complaint argues. “Rather, this suit alleges violation of New Jersey statutory and common law because Defendants actively participated in the addiction of Mdallo1990 by targeting him with incentives, bonuses, and other gifts to create, nurture, expedite, and/or exacerbate his addiction.” The suit is reminiscent of one brought in October by a former Jacksonville Jaguars employee serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for plundering more than $22 million of the NFL team’s money and betting it on FanDuel, a DraftKings competitor.