DraftKings used AI to target losing bettors: 'The best investment would be a problem gambler'
2026-09-21
New York Post
The information displayed in the AIM should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries.
DraftKings, a major US online betting company, developed and used AI models to identify customers most likely to lose money and targeted them with promotional offers, increasing their gambling losses. The company reportedly ignored internal proposals to use AI for detecting and preventing gambling addiction, raising ethical concerns.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The article explicitly states that DraftKings used AI and data science to identify and target gamblers likely to lose more money, including problem gamblers, with promotional offers. This targeting has caused direct harm to individuals, such as financial loss and exacerbation of gambling addiction, which is a health-related harm. The involvement of AI in the development and use of these promotional targeting systems, and the resulting harm, meets the criteria for an AI Incident. The shutdown of a predictive AI system intended to prevent harm further underscores the direct link between AI use and harm in this context.[AI generated]