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ProPublica
@propublica.org

Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵

ProPublica
@propublica.org

2/ Why now? More people are betting on sports than ever. But as the industry soars close to $17B in revenue, calls to gambling helplines have also skyrocketed.

ProPublica
@propublica.org

3/ As public scrutiny grows, DraftKings and the other big operators stress that their safeguards work. An exec told me if someone shows too many signs of problem gambling, they’ll proactively close the account — though she declined to say how many times DraftKings had done so.

ProPublica
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4/ But over the next 10 weeks, I’d mimic the patterns of a problem gambler with the help of a panel of gambling experts and learn just how much DraftKings would encourage my recklessness — and just how little pushback I’d get as I spiraled downward.

propublica.orgI Deliberately Bet Like a Problem Gambler. DraftKings Made Me a VIP.Amid growing public health concerns, operators like DraftKings have touted “responsible gaming” tools and prompts. But as I went off the deep end, I found they were no match for the incentives and pro...
ProPublica
@propublica.org

5/ With ProPublica bankrolling me, I opened my account in April. I waved my first red flag during a Knicks game by loss chasing, or attempting to recoup my continued losses by making more and bigger bets. Soon, I was already down ~$2K — most of it blown in one night.

88 reposts1.2K likes

Ben Keel
@bennkeel.bsky.social

We scroll down on web pages so a long graph needs to be chronologically vertical instead of horizontal, but it’s a fair critique that the graph doesn’t have a visual anchor up top and we may read it from left to right on the first pass.

ProPublica
@propublica.org

6/ The next day, an email popped in my inbox: 'Welcome to the DraftKings VIP Showcase.' I couldn’t believe it. My night of loss chasing was being rewarded. Reading the fine print, I was floored: The more I spent on long-odds wagers, the faster I’d advance through the ranks.

ProPublica
@propublica.org

7/ An expert explained that losers like me are the bettors that sports betting companies are most interested in. A small group accounts for a large portion of revenue. And what keeps losers loyal? VIP programs. The more you bet, the more you get: free bets/swag/fancy dinners.

Anonymous #OpMentalHealth
@opmentalhealth.bsky.social

With that comes the belief that the BIG WIN can definitely happen from continuing to go down that path, and so they do. There's literally no motivation to stop and they're being given every reason to not only just continue, but to go harder. That's super dangerous to an addict. 😟

tower[dan]
@towerdan.bsky.social

The pay-to-play gaming industry calls these people Whales. And is a large source of the profit. I wonder how many people making these apps used to work on Candy Crush?

ProPublica
@propublica.org

8/ As the @nytimes.com reported, DraftKings uses machine learning and data scientists to entice losing customers with promos to keep them going — even if those are the customers at risk of becoming addicts. The company says it doesn’t unfairly target people.

nytimes.comHow DraftKings Uses A.I. to Target the Gamblers Likeliest to LoseData science helps determine who receives betting incentives, but the company has resisted using similar technology to protect gamblers at risk of addiction.
ProPublica
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9/ A month in, I was betting so much that DraftKings’ quick-tap deposit buttons had increased to $500, $750 and $950, making it even easier to mindlessly transfer money into my account. I was also getting pummeled with push alerts inviting me to bet more.

I had the pear dream again…
@hecubus.bsky.social

This right here fits the pattern of the “professional gambler” category - easier to make larger, more frequent, & riskier bets when the money isn’t your own, providing even more of that rewarding neurotransmitter flood. Once the sponsored money dries up, the person is already hooked & seeks more.