USA: Gambling addict seeks USD 250 million in damages

Because a gambling provider is alleged to have fuelled a player's addiction, the player is now demanding absurdly high damages of USD 250 million. Such high claims are not uncommon in the United States. But how good are the gambling addict's chances of success and what other curious claims for damages for pain and suffering have been made in the USA so far?

Just a few weeks ago, we at GambleJoe reported that every second adult in the USA visited a casino last year. Now it has been announced that a gambling addict is demanding USD 250 million in damages from sports betting provider FanDuel. The reasoning: The operator had fuelled the gambling addiction of the person concerned through unfair incentives.

Tip: In one of our current guides, we provide information on official offers of help for problematic gambling behaviour.

FanDuel is said to have actively encouraged the player's gambling addiction

The plaintiff player accuses the sports betting provider FanDuel of deliberately incentivising him to encourage his existing gambling addiction. Accordingly, FanDuel is said to have ignored its own guidelines on responsible gambling and failed to adequately protect the player. FanDuel is part of the billion-dollar gambling group Flutter Entertainment. In January of this year, we at GambleJoe reported that Flutter had grown by 25% in 2023.

Player lost tens of millions on FanDuel

The plaintiff is said to be the former employee of the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars, Amit Patel. Patel has been addicted to gambling for a long time and has even committed criminal offences in the past, including embezzling millions.

According to the plaintiff, he had lost tens of millions on the FanDuel platform in recent years. However, instead of protecting the player from further losses, FanDuel provided him with free games and bonuses totalling USD 1.1 million. FanDuel had also given the VIP customer tickets to Formula 1 games and football matches in order to further increase his loyalty to the sports betting provider.

The gambling addict is now claiming damages of USD 250 million in a federal court in New York. The plaintiff's lawyer is now arguing that the gambler was virtually pressurised with gifts to continue gambling and thus exacerbate his addiction. It is questionable whether and to what extent the plaintiff will actually be awarded damages. In the past, the judges have tended to rule in favour of the gambling providers, as they could not be held responsible for unreasonably high stakes placed by the players.

Other curious claims for damages in the USA

Gambling addict Amit Patel's claim for damages in the hundreds of millions from the gambling provider is not the only curious case in the USA. We have kept an eye out for other claims for damages for pain and suffering:

• A woman who found an entry in a telephone directory for a rogue plastic surgeon who ended up disfiguring her face during an operation was awarded damages of USD 1.2 million by the telephone company.
• A burglar who fell through a school roof during his crime and suffered paraplegia was awarded USD 1.8 million in damages.
• In San Diego, a plaintiff was awarded USD 5.4 million for emotional trauma suffered during an Elton John concert.
• A pensioner who blamed a cigarette manufacturer for his cancer received compensation for pain and suffering totalling USD 28 million.

Conclusion

A player from the USA who gambled away tens of millions of dollars with sports betting provider FanDuel in recent years is now claiming USD 250 million in damages. The provider failed to adequately protect him as a gambling addict and instead actively encouraged him to gamble. It will be interesting to see whether the court in New York will find in favour of the player.

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