Baltimore Sports activities Betting Lawsuit Will Be Tried in Metropolis Courtroom

• The Metropolis of Baltimore sued DraftKings and FanDuel in April 2025
• The lawsuit alleging client safety violations shall be tried within the metropolis court docket
• FanDuel and DraftKings have withdrawn their American Gaming Affiliation membership 

Baltimore Metropolis’s lawsuit towards DraftKings and FanDuel, filed in April on allegations of Client Safety Ordinance (CPO) violations, shall be tried in metropolis court docket.

A FanDuel commercial, then solely a each day fantasy sports activities firm, is seen inside M&T Financial institution Stadium, house of the NFL Baltimore Ravens, on Oct. 11, 2015. (Picture: Getty)

The Baltimore Metropolis Council, Mayor Brandon Scott, the Baltimore Metropolis Regulation Division, and DiCello Levitt, LLP, alleged in April that the sportsbook leaders have focused and exploited susceptible gamblers, a lot of whom are younger males, as prohibited by the town’s Client Safety Ordinance.

On line casino.org reported on the time that the grievance raised allegations that the cell sports activities betting giants “use a two-pronged scheme to hurt Baltimoreans.”

Upon being named as defendants within the matter, counsel for DraftKings and FanDuel requested Maryland’s District Courtroom to tackle the case. Final week, a federal decide dominated towards the attraction, citing authorized doctrine that enables federal courts to refuse circumstances that contain advanced state or metropolis legal guidelines and/or insurance policies.

Baltimore’s CPO was overhauled in 2023 to supply the town with extra authorized authority to take motion towards corporations and industries that native authorities officers deemed to be engaged in unfair, misleading, and abusive practices.

The Metropolis of Baltimore is taking a crucial step ahead in our means to guard Baltimoreans from predatory enterprise practices,” Scott mentioned throughout his signing of Metropolis Council Invoice 23-0424.

In March, the Baltimore Division of Client Safety was shaped to research complaints of misleading and abusive client practices.

Case Continues

Following the Maryland federal court docket’s refusal to simply accept, Baltimore’s litigation towards DraftKings and FanDuel returns to the town’s circuit court docket.

The plaintiffs allege that the sportsbooks, which went reside in Maryland in November 2022, have utilized analytics to single out drawback gamblers who aren’t expert in sports activities playing with private inducements to maximise the books’ profitability. Town is looking for a jury trial.

“DraftKings and FanDuel put company greed forward of the well-being of Baltimoreans, getting customers hooked to their playing platforms after which leveraging troves of knowledge to determine, goal, and exploit essentially the most susceptible amongst them. Their predatory practices have induced vital hurt to our neighborhood, and we’re taking motion to carry them accountable and defend our residents,” mentioned Baltimore Metropolis Solicitor Ebony Thompson with the Baltimore Metropolis Division of Regulation. 

Market Leaders

By way of the primary 4 months of Maryland’s 2026 fiscal yr (July 2025 by way of October 2025), DraftKings and FanDuel are in a league of their very own when it comes to sports activities betting deal with and income.

FanDuel took greater than $889.4 million in on-line bets and saved greater than $93.4 million of the wagers after paying out prizes and deducting promotional play and different incentives like odds boosts. DraftKings facilitated $668.4 million in cell wagers to generate income of $59.3 million.

FanDuel operates in Maryland by way of a partnership with Stay! On line casino & Lodge. DraftKings operates through an online-only sports activities wagering allow.

BetMGM is FanDuel and DraftKings’ nearest competitor in Maryland. By way of its licensing cope with MGM Nationwide Harbor, the net sportsbook took $159.1 million in cell bets throughout the 4 months, producing a web win of $17.9 million.

AGA Exit

On line casino.org reported earlier as we speak that the sports activities betting and iGaming leaders abruptly left the American Gaming Affiliation due to their intent to enter the prediction market area. The AGA opposed prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket that supply contracts associated to sports activities.