DraftKings
Jamie Shea Urges United States Betting Brands to Embrace Player Education

Strive Gaming Chief Marketing Officer tells Xtremepush podcast Experts in the Room in-play betting has the potential to take off as it has in Europe
Sportsbooks in the United States must focus on educating bettors about the availability and benefits of in-play betting for a profitable future, according to Strive Gaming’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jamie Shea (pictured).
Speaking as a guest on a forthcoming edition of Xtremepush’s podcast series Experts in the Room, the industry leader and former VP of Sportsbook at DraftKings stressed that live betting has so far only reached a fraction of its potential in the country.
That’s despite it being more than five years since the first legal online bets in the United States outside of Nevada were placed with DraftKings in New Jersey.
Also key to profitability is a concerted push to retain expensively acquired players, Shea argues, with increased personalisation favored above expensive blanket bonusing.
“The education of the player is the best retention tool as it teaches them how to play,” said Shea, speaking to Xtremepush’s New Business Account Executive and podcast host, Will Hansen. “A lot of the time, customers just don’t even realize that certain bets exist. One of the things that’s driving me crazy right now in the United States industry is in-play. Why is that not bigger? Seventy per cent of bets should be in-play, as they are in Europe, because it’s fun and provides instant gratification.
“I would love to see that happen in the United States. We need to educate the players on how it works and where they can find it in an app and that’s where push notifications come in. Brands should be doing all they can to let the customer know that hey, there is this wager available and it’s a lot of fun. Every time that I’ve sat down with people and taught them how it works, they love it and it becomes their go-to.”
Shea also stressed that United States operators’ acquisition budgets need to be more in line with player lifetime values, a trend which is already in motion.
“After the first bet on August 1st, 2018, in New Jersey, it was a free-for-all,” she added. “Nobody knew what should be done or how it should be done, just that they wanted as many active customers as possible. And so it was a bonus here, a bonus there.
“Unfortunately, as everybody came to realize, this set the customer up with an expectation that isn’t realistic, because those offers can’t last forever. It also created a lot of promiscuity within the different brands through ‘promo hunters’ and it started to become a race to the bottom. Nobody was profitable.
“Having Strive Gaming and Xtremepush in the United States market allows for so much more targeted marketing, so that bonuses aren’t just thrown at everyone. It allows us to look at what resonates with certain player types as a targeted and measured approach.”
In line with the data-led approach to personalized offerings, Shea also stressed that detecting problematic player behavior is of paramount importance for United States-focused platform provider Strive Gaming.
“For me, it’s a very personal topic,” she said. “I grew up with my dad losing his business and that’s because gaming was not regulated. Nobody was texting him and asking him how he was doing back in 1984. One of the great things about having all of this data available is you can look to see, has someone changed their behavior dramatically?
“I’m very cognizant of player interactions with us. Our customer service team is extremely well-trained to notice when certain trigger words, for example, suggest a person might be having a problem. We can’t be their therapist. We can’t know everything they are thinking. But what we can do is provide the right tools to enable people to keep enjoying sports betting and iGaming, in a very responsible manner that isn’t going to affect their lives.”
Betr
DraftKings Introduces Credit Card Deposit Ban for US Customers

DraftKings has introduced credit card deposit ban for US customers. This decision aligns them with other major gambling operators, such as Fanatics Betting & Gaming, Betr, and Sporttrade, which have already banned credit card funding for wagering accounts.
It also comes on the heels of another major announcement by DraftKings. Starting September 1, DraftKings will charge a 50-cent fee for every mobile and online bet placed in Illinois using its Sportsbook platform. This change follows a similar move by FanDuel.
DraftKings CEO, Jason Robins, expressed his disappointment with Illinois policymakers for significantly raising the tax rate. He is worried that this could hurt the legal sports betting industry, while the illegal market continues to operate without paying taxes or providing any consumer protections.
DraftKings has informed its users that any saved credit card information will be disabled.
Moving forward, players will need to utilize alternative payment methods, including:
• Debit Cards
• ACH and wire transfers
• PayPal, Venmo
• Apple Pay
• Gift Cards
Bettors can also use cash at physical locations to fund their accounts.
DraftKings describes this step as a “strategic business decision” aimed at shielding customers from the high interest rates and cash advance fees usually associated with credit card deposits in gambling. Unlike regulatory demands, this decision was internally driven but coincides with growing scrutiny from regulators.
DraftKings has decided to stop accepting credit cards for deposits in the US due to worries about customer safety and more scrutiny from regulators. Recently, the company faced a significant fine in Massachusetts, where it is based. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission fined DraftKings $450,000 for allowing credit card deposits, which goes against state laws.
The post DraftKings Introduces Credit Card Deposit Ban for US Customers appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
DraftKings
New Jersey Gambling Revenue Surges in July with Online Casinos Leading Growth

The gambling sector in New Jersey experienced impressive gains in July, hitting a total gaming revenue of $606.2 million. This figure marks an increase of 10.7% compared to July 2024, highlighting continued expansion within the state’s gaming market.
Online Casinos Set New Records with $247 Million Revenue
Online casino platforms played a key role in driving this growth, generating an unprecedented $247.3 million during the month. This amount represents a more than 25% rise from the same period last year and establishes a new monthly high for internet gaming in New Jersey. So far in 2025, online casinos have accumulated $1.63 billion in revenue, a year-over-year increase exceeding 23%. Major operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM have been instrumental in positioning New Jersey as the leading state for legal online gambling in the US.
FanDuel maintained its position as the top online casino, earning $52 million in July—a 38% increase from the previous year. DraftKings followed with $48.6 million, while BetMGM generated $31.4 million. Additionally, Caesars Palace Online achieved a record $18.7 million, more than 50% above last year’s equivalent month. The fierce competition among these industry leaders has sparked innovation and increased player engagement, contributing to sustained market growth.
Land-based casinos in Atlantic City also experienced a positive month, collectively bringing in $284.1 million, a 4.3% increase compared to July 2024. The Borgata remained the highest-grossing casino with nearly $80 million in revenue, while Ocean Casino Resort recorded the fastest growth at over 18%. Hard Rock Atlantic City also noted gains. However, many of the older casinos continue to lag behind their pre-pandemic results, emphasizing the growing importance of newer venues in the market.
Conversely, sports betting revenue saw a decline. Earnings from bets placed at casinos, racetracks, and online platforms totaled $74.8 million in July, reflecting a 6.6% decrease year-over-year. The total amount wagered reached $664 million for the month, bringing the cumulative sports betting revenue for 2025 to $626.8 million—approximately 4% lower than last year’s figures.
Record-Breaking Year-to-Date Revenue and Tax Contributions
Despite the downturn in sports betting, New Jersey’s overall gambling industry has achieved record-breaking performance during the first seven months of 2025. Combined revenue from all gaming categories reached $3.92 billion, marking the highest year-to-date total on record for the state. In July alone, gambling-related tax revenues amounted to $81.7 million, contributing to a year-to-date total of $446.1 million to New Jersey’s fiscal resources.
The post New Jersey Gambling Revenue Surges in July with Online Casinos Leading Growth appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
DraftKings
The Great Gambling Class Action Wave: A Payout For Lawyers, Not Players

Class action lawsuits in the gambling industry are everywhere, but a closer look reveals a startling truth: They have become a new, industrialized legal business model where the lawyers get paid, but most players see little to nothing.
From DraftKings to sweepstakes casinos, law firms are filing often, promising justice and accountability for operators. The headlines certainly make it sound like players are winning big. We hear of a $155 million settlement against Big Fish Games, a $12 million payment from FanDuel and DraftKings, and a $3.5 million settlement from SpinX Games. Even Coinbase paid $2.25 million over a crypto sweepstakes controversy.
But these numbers tell only half the story. The journey from a lawsuit filing to a meaningful payout is a brutal one for class members, but often a highly profitable one for the legal firms behind the litigation.
The filing frenzy: a numbers game
The class action landscape is a numbers game. While filing a lawsuit might seem straightforward, the journey is not. According to empirical studies, nearly four out of every five lawsuits initially filed as class actions are never actually certified. That’s an 80% failure rate right out of the gate. These cases are often dismissed or revert to individual claims too small to pursue economically.
As John Holden, a law professor at Oklahoma State University, explains, “When you announce that you’re filing a class action lawsuit against DraftKings or a sweepstakes company, you’re at the starter pistol of an ultra marathon.”
This high-volume, high-risk approach is particularly evident in the gambling industry. Multiple class actions against VGW Holdings (the company behind LuckyLand Slots and Chumba Casino) were dismissed, often due to enforceable arbitration clauses that force disputes into individual arbitration, fundamentally undermining the class action’s purpose.
This industrialized approach to litigation — where a law firm files a similar case against different companies dozens of times — is a strategy of volume. The hope is that a few will survive the “significant early filters” of the motion to dismiss and motion for class certification, which the Institute for Legal Reform highlights as key hurdles.
Another issue: making sure people in the “class” want to be part of the whole shebang.
“Class actions do have a number of unique hurdles, such as class certification motions and fairness hearings, that we don’t see in other forms of litigation, but it’s due to the fact that attorneys are hoping to represent individuals who usually haven’t affirmatively opted in to such a representation and will lose the right to sue individually if they don’t opt out of the class,” said Evan Davis, head of the gaming and sports practice at Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC. “The court needs to ensure that these individuals are being treated fairly by the court system and that they are receiving an appropriate benefit from the litigation.”
The settlement reality check
Even when cases survive and result in settlements, the outcomes for individual players are often underwhelming. A study of federal court class actions found that in over half of all cases studied, members of the proposed class received zero relief.
When settlements are reached, the gap between the headline amount and what players actually receive is enormous. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that the median claims rate was just 9% in 2019. For settlements involving over 2.7 million class members, the average claims rate dropped to a mere 1.4%, as reported by Harvard Law professor William B. Rubenstein.
This leaves a significant portion of the settlement pool unclaimed. While the lawyers take a guaranteed, substantial cut — often in the millions — the payouts for individuals are typically modest, often in the double and low triple digits. The low participation rates are due to practical frustrations: Settlement notifications often look like junk mail, and the claim process can be onerous. The extended timeline of class action litigation, which adds “many additional months to your case,” as Holden said, also creates financial pressure that pushes firms toward settlement.
“They take even longer than regular litigation because you’ve got to go find the class, you’ve got to get the class certified,” Holden noted. “So basically you’re having this other legal process play out before you get to the next legal process. You’re adding on many additional months to your case.”
This extended timeline creates financial pressure, especially when facing well-resourced defendants.
“If you were to bring a class action against Google or something, they have infinite money — they can litigate forever if they wanted to,” Holden explained. “Certainly the top tiers of the gambling industry are incredibly well resourced, so efficiency sort of pushes towards settlement for a lot of these.”
As one analysis noted, sweepstakes casino operators “will invariably settle” to avoid a jury trial that could fundamentally dismantle their business models. This creates a cycle where companies pay to continue operating while plaintiffs’ attorneys develop increasingly sophisticated strategies for the next round of litigation.
But settling may be losing some luster, Davis points out.
“Some of the recent gaming-related class actions that have been filed are somewhat unique because they are being brought pursuant to state laws and in some cases limited to individuals within certain states — they are not traditional nationwide class actions like you’d typically see in antitrust or pharmaceutical cases,” Davis said. “This means that a settlement of one case won’t necessarily affect the cases that have been filed alleging violations of other states’ laws, which in turn means that a defendant may be less likely to settle because it will still be incurring significant legal costs in defending the remaining cases.”
The new legal playbook
Gaming companies aren’t sitting idle. The rise of this legal cottage industry has spurred a sophisticated defense playbook that goes well beyond seeking quick settlements. Arbitration clauses have become powerful weapons, forcing disputes into individual arbitration rather than collective lawsuits.
Perhaps the most intriguing development is the increasing use of civil RICO claims. Attorneys are drawing parallels to successful litigation against the opioid industry, alleging that gambling companies use systemic fraudulent practices to foster addiction.
The approach got a boost when Schlesinger Law Offices publicly committed to taking legal action against online sports betting platforms, explicitly drawing parallels to their work against Big Tobacco and stating their intent to pursue companies for “allegedly pushing problem gamblers into debt through deceptive, predatory, and harmful business practices.”
Holden sees these cases as potentially a world apart from typical consumer protection class actions.
“When you see particular individuals associated with them, like a lawyer who litigated tobacco litigation, it triggers that this is perhaps different than some of these other ones that are out there,” he said.
This is a stark contrast to the historical context of gambling litigation, where compulsive gamblers had a “long, unsuccessful history” of lawsuits against the industry. The rapid expansion of online gambling has created new vulnerabilities that this new legal cottage industry is actively exploiting.
The great gambling class action wave is not about to end. As long as the potential for multimillion-dollar legal fees exists, a steady stream of lawsuits from opportunistic lawyers will follow.
For the law firms involved, the odds are in their favor, as this is a high-volume business. But for individual players hoping for significant compensation, the odds remain stubbornly long — much like the games themselves.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
The post The Great Gambling Class Action Wave: A Payout For Lawyers, Not Players appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
-
eSports3 days ago
TEAM VITALITY AND HUMMEL LAUNCH ALTERNATE JERSEY AND EXCLUSIVE APPAREL COLLECTION
-
Conferences in Europe5 days ago
EGT Digital and EGT to rock the show at SiGMA Euro-Med 2025
-
Africa5 days ago
QTech Games wins Best Innovation of the Year at the 2025 SBWA+ Eventus Awards
-
Colombia5 days ago
Spintec Strengthens its Partnership with Merkur in Colombia and Peru
-
Latest News4 days ago
Octoplay advances on its European growth strategy by partnering with Evoke Group in the UK and Denmark
-
Blanka Homor Sales Director at Playson4 days ago
Playson strengthens Ontario foothold with Casino Time integration
-
Baltics4 days ago
CT Interactive Expands its Certified Game Portfolio in Latvia
-
Balkans4 days ago
CT Gaming Secures Certification for its Latest Multigame – Diamond King 5