What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The complaints allege that the defendants' AI and machine-learning personalization systems tracked the plaintiffs' play and targeted them with promotions and notifications, and quote DraftKings' 10-K on machine-learning recommendation engines; the 'AI-powered engagement platforms' allegation is pleaded on information and belief. Nothing in the record yet establishes that AI systems made the targeting decisions about these two users, so the relation (a system making decisions about the person) is recorded as alleged.
AI-to-person relation
- Made a decision about the person
Core relations are communication, acting on someone’s behalf, and depiction or impersonation. Decision and claim relations are retained as contextual cases.
Their own AI use · An institution’s AI use. Settings: Finance, Health, Relationships, Justice.
Claim status: Documented
Christopher Evans filed a product-liability complaint against DraftKings Inc. and Crown PA Gaming in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on 24 July 2026 (Case ID 260702927); the defendants removed it to the E.D. Pa. on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07168.
Causal attribution: Established by the court record (state docket report and federal removal filing).
- Court filing (supports): "EVANS VS DRAFTKINGS INC. ETAL"; "Filing Date: Friday , July 24th, 2026"; "Case ID: 260702927"; "Case 2:26-cv-07168 Document 1-3 Filed 09/16/26".
- Court docket (supports): docketNumber "2:26-cv-07168", court "paed", dateFiled "2026-09-16", "NOTICE OF REMOVAL by CROWN PA GAMING, INC., DRAFTKINGS INC.".
Claim status: Documented
Michael Santos filed a complaint against DraftKings, Crown PA Gaming, FanDuel Inc. and FanDuel's affiliates in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas on 29 July 2026 (2026-07200-TT); the FanDuel defendants removed it to the E.D. Pa. on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07176.
Causal attribution: Established by the court record.
- Court filing (supports): "IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CHESTER COUNTY"; "29 Jul 2026 03:54 PM"; "MICHAEL SANTOS,"; "2026-07200-TT"; "Case 2:26-cv-07176 Document 1-3 Filed 09/16/26".
- Court docket (supports): docketNumber "2:26-cv-07176", court "paed", dateFiled "2026-09-16", "NOTICE OF REMOVAL by FANDUEL INC., FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT, PLC, BETFAIR INTERACTIVE US LLC, FANDUEL GROUP PARENT LLC, FANDUEL PA LLC".
Claim status: Reported
Evans pleads that since about August 2017 he wagered over US$2,100,000 on DraftKings' apps with net losses of about US$81,000, constantly received targeted promotions and personalised push notifications and had a VIP account manager, developed depression and anxiety and was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020, stopped going outside, fell into debt, had his vehicle repossessed and separated from his wife.
Causal attribution: Plaintiff's allegations in a pending complaint; untested.
- Court filing (supports): "He began using the DraftKings applications in or around August 2017"; "Plaintiff has wagered over $2,100,000.00 with net losses of approximately $81,000.00"; "constantly received targeted promotions, personalized push notifications, and incentives like prop bets and free credits intended to repetitively lure him back into the gambling applications"; "also had a VIP account manager, who would send him promotional offers, bonuses, and perks"; "He soon began suffering from depression and anxiety and stopped going outside altogether in favor of gambling all day"; "creating financial strain that has placed him into debt and resulted in the repossession of his vehicle"; "resulted in his wife separating from him"; "was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020".
Claim status: Reported
Santos pleads that he wagered over US$1,164,000 on DraftKings with net losses of about US$58,000 and nearly US$7,000 on FanDuel with losses of nearly US$1,500, received targeted advertisements, personalised push notifications and incentive emails, had a VIP manager who kept offering bonus bets after he said he wanted to stop, maxed out multiple credit cards and was forced to sell his house, received diagnoses of depression and anxiety, experienced suicidal ideation, and self-excluded with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2023.
Causal attribution: Plaintiff's allegations in a pending complaint; untested.
- Court filing (supports): "has wagered over $1,164,000.00 with net losses of approximately $58,000.00"; "has wagered nearly $7,000 on FanDuel with losses of nearly $1,500"; "constantly received targeted advertisements, personalized push notifications, and incentive-based emails from DraftKings intended to repetitively lure him back into the gambling app"; "despite Plaintiff expressly stating he did not want to continue gambling"; "max out multiple credit cards and accrue debt so significant that it forced him to sell his house"; "has received formal diagnoses of depression and anxiety"; "drove Plaintiff MICHAEL SANTOS to suicidal ideation"; "voluntarily placed himself on a self-exclusion list with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2023".
Claim status: Documented
Both complaints allege that the defendants combine artificial intelligence with tracking of personalised user data to addict users and lure them back, that DraftKings' 10-K discloses machine-learning recommendation engines, and, on information and belief, that the defendants operate AI-powered engagement platforms; both ask the court to limit or eliminate the use of artificial intelligence to track individual users.
Causal attribution: The contents of the pleadings are established by the record; the truth of the AI allegations is not.
- Court filing (supports): "Defendants utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users and continuously lure them back to their sports gambling apps"; "data science and machine learning to help optimize conversion"; "recommendation engines"; "Defendants operate sophisticated AI-powered engagement platforms that, on information and belief, employ the precise personalization mechanisms the study identifies as risk-generating"; "Limit or eliminating artificial intelligence to track individual".
- Court filing (supports): "Defendants utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users"; "Limiting or eliminating artificial intelligence to track individual".
What remains unknown
- Whether AI or machine-learning systems, rather than human account managers and conventional marketing, generated the promotions and notifications the plaintiffs describe; the 'AI-powered engagement platforms' allegation is pleaded on information and belief.
- The defendants' responses; no answer, motion or ruling is recorded as of 2026-09-19.
- When Santos began gambling on the apps and his current financial position.
- Whether the plaintiffs also gambled on other operators' products.
Source reading, translation and location
Court filing · en · Source inspected
Read in English on 2026-09-17 and 2026-09-19: Exhibit A to the notice of removal in Evans v. DraftKings Inc., E.D. Pa. 2:26-cv-07168 (47 pages: the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas docket report and the complaint of 24 July 2026), from the CourtListener RECAP archive.
Court filing · en · Source inspected
Read in English on 2026-09-19: Exhibit A to the notice of removal in Santos v. DraftKings Inc., E.D. Pa. 2:26-cv-07176 (53 pages: the complaint filed and attested in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas on 29 July 2026), from the CourtListener RECAP archive.
Court docket · en · Source inspected
Docket metadata read on 2026-09-19 through the CourtListener v4 search API (saved as cl-evans.json): case name, docket number 2:26-cv-07168, court E.D. Pa., filed 2026-09-16, cause 28:1332 diversity product liability, removal notice by Crown PA Gaming and DraftKings.
Court docket · en · Source inspected
Docket metadata read on 2026-09-19 through the CourtListener v4 search API (saved as cl-santos3.json): docket number 2:26-cv-07176, court E.D. Pa., filed 2026-09-16, removal notice by FanDuel Inc., Flutter Entertainment, Betfair Interactive US, FanDuel Group Parent and FanDuel PA.
Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: United States.
Both plaintiffs are Pennsylvania residents (Philadelphia; Coatesville, Chester County) per the complaints; suits filed in Pennsylvania state courts and removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Reviewed for publication 2026-09-19: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a contextual case: two pending complaints, read in full from the court record, allege that an operator's AI-driven personalization and engagement systems fostered gambling addiction with quantified losses, debt, family breakdown, psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal ideation. Filing facts are documented; the harms and the AI involvement are the plaintiffs' allegations and are recorded as such. Plaintiffs are identified only by the public case captions.
What Happened
The two complaints (read as Exhibit A to each notice of removal) share a common body alleging that DraftKings' (and, for Santos, FanDuel's) apps track every interaction, including 'moments of hesitation', to build 'hyper-personalized algorithms' and bombard users with targeted notifications and promotions when they are most susceptible; that the defendants 'utilize the combination of advanced technology and artificial intelligence paired with the tracking of personalized user data to intentionally addict users and continuously lure them back'; that DraftKings' 10-K discloses 'data science and machine learning' and 'recommendation engines' that present betting markets based on past play; and that, on information and belief, the defendants operate 'AI-powered engagement platforms' employing the personalization mechanisms a 2025 study associated with increased betting persistence. The prayer for relief includes limiting or eliminating artificial intelligence to track individual users. Evans's specific facts: he began using DraftKings' apps in or around August 2017 and developed an unmanageable addiction; he wagered over US$2,100,000 with net losses of about US$81,000; he constantly received targeted promotions, personalised push notifications and incentives, and had a VIP account manager; he spent hours a day gambling, mainly casino games, began suffering from depression and anxiety, stopped going outside, fell into debt, had his vehicle repossessed, and his wife separated from him; he was formally diagnosed with depression in 2020. Santos's specific facts: he wagered over US$1,164,000 on DraftKings with net losses of about US$58,000 and nearly US$7,000 on FanDuel with losses of nearly US$1,500; he received targeted advertisements, personalised push notifications and incentive emails, and a VIP account manager who called him, provided bonus bets and invited him to events despite his saying he did not want to continue gambling; he maxed out multiple credit cards and was forced to sell his house; he received formal diagnoses of depression and anxiety, experienced suicidal ideation, placed himself on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board self-exclusion list in 2023 and has since been in treatment. Each complaint pleads eight counts: breach of warranty (defective design; failure to warn), negligent design, negligent failure to warn, negligence, intentional misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The defendants have not yet answered; nothing in the record establishes that AI systems, as opposed to human account managers and conventional marketing, produced the promotions the plaintiffs describe.
Reported harm
As pleaded: gambling addiction with net losses of about US$81,000 (Evans) and about US$58,000 plus small FanDuel losses (Santos), debt, a repossessed vehicle and marital separation (Evans), maxed-out credit cards, a forced house sale, diagnosed depression and anxiety and suicidal ideation (Santos), attributed by the plaintiffs to the defendants' AI-driven personalization and engagement design.
Financial LossPsychiatric DeteriorationRelationship DisruptionProperty Loss
Outcome
Ongoing Evans v. DraftKings Inc. et al.: filed 24 July 2026, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (Case ID 260702927, product liability, jury demanded); removed by DraftKings and Crown PA Gaming to the E.D. Pa. on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07168 (diversity, product liability). Santos v. DraftKings Inc. et al.: filed 29 July 2026, Chester County Court of Common Pleas (2026-07200-TT); removed by the FanDuel defendants on 16 September 2026 as 2:26-cv-07176. No responsive pleadings or rulings are recorded as of 2026-09-19.