DraftKings Sued Over Canceled Entries After Bills Game Halted

DraftKings Inc. is facing a proposed class action by bettors whose fantasy football contest entries were canceled and refunded when the NFL suspended play in the Jan. 3 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The NFL initially suspended, and later canceled the game after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest following a play in the first quarter.

Lead plaintiff Simpson G. Turley alleges DraftKings “improperly paid out” on certain NFL daily fantasy sports contests, while refusing to pay out on other contests, in violation of its rules, in a complaint filed Monday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“DraftKings arbitrarily chose to apply the statistics” from the suspended Bills-Bengals game “to certain contests and offer payouts to customers leading in those contests, while refusing to apply the same statistics from the game to other contests and refusing to offer the same payouts to customers leading in those contests,” the complaint alleges.

DraftKings began contacting its daily fantasy sports participants within hours of the game being suspended to say it decided to cancel and refund entries for its Showdown and Flash Draft contests, and all single-game Reignmakers contests for the Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game, but DraftKings opted to pay out on other NFL fantasy football contests, the complaint alleges.

The company’s actions violated its “own established rules applicable to the suspension of an NFL game,” under which participants in the Showdown and Flash Draft contests were entitled to be paid out based on the statistics generated before the game was suspended, the complaint alleges.

At the time the game was suspended, Turley alleges, his fantasy football team had accrued 23.35 points and was ranked in first place in the “NFL Showdown $20K Two Point Conversion [$5K to 1st] (BUF vs CIN)” contest.

At that point, the DraftKings website indicated that Turley’s team was ranked in first place in the contest and his winnings totaled $5,000, the complaint alleges.

DraftKings offers live in-game betting for various sports, including professional baseball, football, basketball, and tennis.

Cause of Action: Breach of contract, deceptive practices and false advertising under New York General Business Law, unjust enrichment.

Relief: Declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.

Potential Class Size: An unknown number of DraftKings participants whose winnings were impacted by the game’s suspension.

Response: A DraftKings spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Attorneys: Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC and Luke Hudock in Muskego, Wis. represent Turley.

The case is Turley v. DraftKings Inc., D. Mass., No. 23-cv-10054, complaint filed 1/9/23.