A Michigan man has sued DraftKings over a bet he made on the Boston Bruins, which he claims should have netted him more than $5,000, but the company refused to pay.
The complaint begins by noting how DraftKings prides itself on offering a “safe, secure online sports betting platform.” It continues: “Prior to its launch of its sports betting (Sportsbook) app in Michigan, DraftKings CEO, Jason Robins, stated ‘[w]e are confident that our mutual commitment to product innovation and customer experience will serve as a solid foundation as we soon introduce Michiganders to the signature DraftKings experience.’”
Plaintiff Ryan Cristman, however, went on to claim that the company deviated from that promise, employing a “systemic practice of refusing to pay winning wagers to customers who are contractually entitled to them. DraftKings failed to honor the winning wagers its customers paid for by incorrectly marking the wagers as losses and, as a result, prevented their customers from receiving the payout that they were entitled to.
“Accordingly, this putative class action seeks (i) damages for Plaintiff and a class of similarly situated individuals who fulfilled their obligations under their agreement with DraftKings, by paying money for a wager in Defendant’s Sportsbook, and were injured when Defendant DraftKings breached its obligation under the contract by incorrectly marking winning wagers as a loss and refusing to pay the amount these customers were contractually entitled to; and (ii) to prevent Defendant from continuing to breach these contracts by refusing to pay winning wagers.”
Cristman claimed DraftKings posted odds on February 10 game between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. The odds were erroneous. So, the company made it clear that it would not honor the bet of Cristman and other similarly situated plaintiffs, according to the complaint. Cristman alleged that the defendant offered him, instead, a free $50 bet.
Central to the plaintiff’s claim is that he called customer support to confirm his wager of $915. Customer support confirmed, according to the complaint. The payout that was listed was $5,586. Cristman said that he waited for the money to show up in his account. But it never arrived.
DraftKings has not answered the complaint at press time.
