DraftKings is using AI to behaviorally target chronic gamblers

tedivm

ProPublica had one of their reports work with gambling addition experts to see how DraftKings would respond to someone presenting signs of a gambling problem. It's a hell of a read, and makes it clear that this company is full of people with absolutely no ethics whatsoever. https://www.propublica.org/article/draftkings-sports-gamblin...

ChrisArchitect

Prevously on source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49765288

drivebyhooting

Passive income? I need massive income. Anybody seen those billboards? It’s disgusting.

zug_zug

Somebody said (I think it was FrostPrime) roughly: Gambling is genuinely the scariest drug, I actually think it's worse than cocaine and it's just right there on your phone. I think that really framed the issue well to me. Imagine having an addiction problem and having to carry the problem substance around with you 24/7.

ecshafer

Legalizing sports betting and online gambling was such a massive mistake. They are sleazy immoral industries that profit on suffering.

NichoPaolucci

“Gambling company leans into its target demographic” I worked with a state lottery that did similar things. Their target demographic was the “every day players” that would compulsively buy at the gas station. I quit that job because it seems to be morally wrong. Betting apps are just this taken to the extreme, I feel for people with this addiction but it’s not going away anytime soon.

SirFatty

I'm shocked. Shocked!

dwaltrip

Ban this shit. Fuck anyone who works at these companies.

LogicFailsMe

And this is the sort of use of AI that ought to be regulated. But it's not as exciting as an AI going foom and cleansing the planet of the scientifically illiterate so it doesn't get traction.

josefresco

Then there's me, using my AI tools to build a Fantasy Football lineup tool. Did pretty good last week!

baggachipz

This should come as no surprise to anybody. They have every incentive to exploit those who can't resist their offering. Gambling is the new tobacco industry.

esalman

I frequently get DraftKings ad on YouTube featuring Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas, they're pushing the information that it is now legal in every state. I also get loads Polymarket and Kalshi ads. Polymarket seems to have invested tons into featuring mega celebs like LeBron in one of their ads. Other ads feature influencers showing off how to trade and such. More obnoxious part is that these companies pay influencers to talk about trading and winning live on streams- without disclosing they're paying those influencers. Polymarket even set up fake website where influencers showed they were winning hundreds of thousands of dollars. You wouldn't find those bets on the real Polymarket website.

j45

I would be surprised if this was not already systemic and endemic across the retail space preying on people who have compulsive spending, gambling issues.

sanex

Back in my day this was called machine learning.

morelandjs

I like how you have to be an accredited investor to get involved with riskier investment instruments but you can be a total moron with no money and lose whatever you have left betting on sports and prediction markets. Btw it’s not just those two, add iGaming into the mix which is cell phone gambling glammed up in Candy Crush form. Leeches, all of them.

walthamstow

"You show me the incentives and I'll show you the outcome"

Havoc

We do seem to be in a “everything is allowed” era

tfrancisl

Some betting company made a partnership with my area's public bus system to put their ads on the side of the bus. There is no recourse for this, it seems, and this explosion of gambling ads is only going to get worse.

jmyeet

If you are vetting a romantic partner or a business partner, I would strongly urge you to check their phone. If they have DraftKings or FanDuel installed... run. Some might even say they lose some but it's for entertainment. I'd still trust them less than a social heroin user. You will find a lot of people who will tell you they win at these things. They don't. How do I know this? Because if you win consistently, they kick you off. You're bad for business because the pigeons need to win occasionally to keep playing (and losing). Gambling (and I include Kalshi and Polymarket here) shouldn't be this accessible. Back when you had to go to a casino, it was still bad but that barrier prevented a lot of harm. Being able to gamble away your future and your family's future from the comfort of your phone simply shouldn't be allowed.

1970-01-01

What do you expect? They thrive on addicts. No different than NYSE:META, and NYSE:RDDT, and NYSE:BUD and NYSE:TAP and NYSE:(fill in whatever proven-to-be-addicting product you want)