Angry Fantasy Sports Players Are Suing DraftKings

DraftKings logo (PRNewsFoto/DraftKings, Inc.)

It was inevitable.

Disgruntled daily fantasy sports players are now going to court to sue DraftKings and FanDuel in the aftermath of an alleged insider trading scandal that has rocked the sports world.

Adam Johnson of Kentucky has filed what he hopes will become a class action lawsuit against the two fantasy sports behemoths for what he claims were acts of negligence, fraud and false advertising. Johnson played on DraftKings with approximately $100 in his account but he is seeking unspecified damages for himself and “similarly situated” individuals in court.

It’s impossible to imagine a scenario where Johnson remains the only disgruntled daily fantasy sports player going to court. The lawsuit contains language that opens the class action portion of the suit up to anyone who played on either site before October 6.

This lawsuit could go nowhere as daily fantasy sports players at both sites are required to sign an arbitration clause before they begin playing at both sites. If a judge allows the lawsuit to go forward, it will become another major headache for the booming industry and only add to the growing public perception that the sites are rigged for insiders. If this truly blows up into a major class action lawsuit it could drag the entire industry down as there are potentially millions of players who could seek damages.

Boston-based DraftKings and New York-based FanDuel have pushed back strongly against the notion that their sites are rigged for their employees. The push back may not be enough to reassure now alert government regulators and a skittish public. News reports indicate DraftKings employees won “less than $10 million” while playing daily fantasy sports on other sites. In a July interview with Boston, executives at DraftKings openly admitted that they could not play on their own platform because it would cause players to lose faith in their product. They did, however, admit to playing “time to time” on other sites daily fantasy sports sites

You can read the full lawsuit below. H/T Deadspin.