DraftKings

A ProPublica investigation reports that a reporter who intentionally bet like a problem gambler was rewarded by DraftKings with VIP status, despite the company's public emphasis on 'responsible gaming' tools. The report argues that incentives and product design pushed continued betting, outweighing safety prompts, amid growing public health concerns over online sports gambling in the United States.

ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson lost $10,000 betting on DraftKings while mimicking the behaviour of a problem gambler, to test the company's "responsible gaming" protections. Within a week of heavy, spiralling losses he was invited into the platform's VIP programme and encountered little resistance or intervention from the company. The experiment raises questions about whether sportsbooks' safeguards actually protect vulnerable customers, and it is drawing attention to the gap between gambling firms' public commitments and their incentives to keep heavy losers betting.