Former Jacksonville Jaguars Employee Sues FanDuel

One of our best sports betting sites has found itself on the wrong side of the news cycle to kick off October, fresh on the heels of the Responsible Gaming Education Month in September. 

FanDuel has been sued by a former Jacksonville Jaguars employee who claims the sportsbook behemoth "exploited" a gambling addiction. Amit Panel filed a civil suit in the Southern District of New York, claiming the site ignored its responsible gaming and anti-money laundering protocols to keep him playing on the website. 

The ex-Jags employee is seeking $250 million in damages. 

The Patel case

Patel was charged in federal court last December for using his position with the team to access and steal from the virtual credit card system over a four-year period. The stolen credit was used for gambling and fantasy sports, as well as other lifestyle expenditures, including a condo, a Telsa, fancy watches, and vacations. 

He served as the sole administrator for the virtual credit card system from 2019 to early 2023, covering transactions via misuse of tracking reports.

He stole more than $22 million from the team and was sentenced to six and a half years at a federal prison in North Carolina. In July, the team sued him for $66.7 million, referencing Florida law, which allows theft victims to recover triple the amount stolen. 

The civil suit 

While FanDuel has declined to comment on the case, we have some insight into Patel's thoughts.

Through his lawyer, Matthew Litt, it was suggested that the sportsbook "...actively and intentionally targeted and preyed on Plaintiff with incentives, credits, and gifts to create, nurture, expedite, and/or exacerbate his addiction with the only possible outcome that he would ultimately hit rock bottom."

Despite reportedly showing signs of problem behavior, FanDuel gave Patel $1.1 million in credits and numerous trips. On the sportsbook's dime, he attended The Masters in 2021 and 2022, the 2023 College Football Playoff championship game, and other events. 

Patel alleges that his VIP host, Brett Krause, was in communication regularly over a three-year span from 2021 to 2023, sometimes from his personal phone to avoid detection. 

Not all doom and gloom for FanDuel

It hasn't been all bad news for FanDuel lately. 

The company donated $1 million to support the United Negro College Fund in North Carolina at the end of September, less than two weeks after donating $1 million to Operation HOPE as it expands into Kentucky.

At the beginning of September, coinciding with the kickoff of Responsible Gaming Education Month, the company launched a partnership with former NBA player Randy Livingston and his wife, sports agent Anita Ondine Smith, called Trusted Voices. It provides parents, guardians, and coaches with a tool to educate young people about gambling.