DraftKings is one of the biggest sports betting operators in America and is continuing to grow as it looks to expand its presence in new states that are legalizing sports betting. One of the biggest markets for DraftKings at the moment is New Jersey.
DraftKings is enjoying a lot of success in the Garden State but in doing so is also breaching state gaming regulations. The New Jersey Division for Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) which is the state gaming regulator recently pulled up DraftKings for targeting players on the self-excluded gambling list.
The gambling regulator said that it had received a complaint on March 1, 2021 from a player who was on the self-excluded gambling list.
The player claimed that DraftKings had sent him a promotional email even though he had placed himself on a lifetime self-excluded gambling list in 2012.
The self-excluded gambling list gives players who have or think they have a problem with their gambling habits and opportunity to voluntarily ban themselves from gambling and betting. They have the option to either ban themselves for a few weeks, a few months, a few years or impose a lifetime ban.
DraftKings is alleged to have targeted as many as eleven players who have put themselves on the self-excluded gambling list. The gaming regulator imposed a fine of $10,000 on DraftKings for these breaches. The fine is relatively small when compared to the revenues that DraftKings makes in New Jersey.
This is also not the first fine that DraftKings has received in New Jersey in 2021 as the operator was fined $500 in Feb 2021 for targeting self-excluded players with promotional materials.
DraftKings Admits To Failure
DraftKings has also faced similar complaints in Indiana. The betting operator admitted to its shortcomings in New Jersey and claimed that an employee missed a step in the process of eliminating problem gamblers from the marketing materials. DraftKings claims that it has addressed the issue with the concerned employee.
DraftKings told the NJDGE that it had received a list of 50,000 emails from a third party vendor and it used this list to send out promotional emails. The employee failed to cross-check the list with the self-excluded list of problem gamblers which is why the error occurred.
The NJDGE has asked DraftKings to submit detailed instructions of the process and procedures it is using to send out promotional content.
