Sports Betting Lawsuit Compensation: What Damages May Be Recovered in a Settlement with FanDuel or DraftKings?

Sports Betting Losses Are the Starting Point

The first part of our evaluation involves determining how much money was actually lost through DraftKings, FanDuel or another online sportsbook. This requires more than looking at the total amount wagered.

An individual may have placed hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets while repeatedly using winnings to fund additional wagers. Therefore, the total betting volume shown in an account may be much higher than the amount of personal money that was ultimately lost.

What Our Lawyers Will Examine

• Total deposits made into each sportsbook account
• Total withdrawals received from those accounts
• Bank, credit card and payment app records
• Promotional credits, refunds or other account adjustments
• Betting activity across multiple sportsbook platforms
• The difference between the money deposited and the money withdrawn may provide a starting point for calculating the individual’s net gambling losses.

However, the full account history can also reveal how the betting behavior developed. It may show escalating deposits, increasing wager amounts, late-night gambling, repeated attempts to recover prior losses or other patterns that help explain the severity of the addiction.

Sportsbooks Allow Convenient Digital Payments

Online sportsbooks allow users to move money into their accounts through several payment methods, making it possible to deposit funds and begin placing bets within minutes.

Available options vary by platform, state and financial institution, but commonly include:

• Credit Cards
• Debit cards
• Direct bank transfers or online banking
• PayPal
• Venmo
• Apple Pay
• Wire transfers
• Prepaid cards or sportsbook gift cards
• Cash deposits at participating retail locations

Credit Card Gambling Debt

The damages analysis becomes more complicated when the money deposited into a sportsbook was borrowed.

For years after mobile sports betting became widely available, several of the largest sportsbooks allowed users to fund accounts directly with credit cards. This enabled individuals to continue wagering after exhausting available income or savings, while interest, cash-advance fees and other charges accumulated alongside the underlying betting losses.

• DraftKings: Accepted credit card deposits from the launch of its mobile sportsbook on August 6, 2018, until its nationwide ban took effect on August 25, 2025, a period of more than seven years.
• FanDuel: Accepted credit card deposits from the launch of its mobile sportsbook in September 2018 until its nationwide ban took effect on March 2, 2026, also spanning roughly seven and a half years.
• BetMGM: Accepted credit card deposits from the launch of the rebranded BetMGM app in September 2019 until it began phasing out credit card funding nationwide on March 31, 2026.
• Caesars Sportsbook: Accepted credit card deposits after the Caesars Sportsbook app was relaunched in August 2021 until credit card funding was barred across its U.S. digital gambling platform on April 14, 2026.
• bet365: Accepted credit card deposits during its U.S. expansion beginning in September 2019 until it eliminated credit card funding nationwide on April 13, 2026.

During those years, users could repeatedly deposit borrowed funds across one or more sportsbook accounts, carry balances from month to month and continue wagering while earlier gambling debt remained unpaid. In addition to the money lost through betting, they could:

• Interest and financing charges
• Cash-advance fees
• Late-payment penalties
• Loan origination fees
• Overdraft charges
• Collection expenses

For example, someone may have deposited and lost $30,000 obtained through credit cards, then incurred thousands of dollars in additional interest and fees over the following months or years.

The sports book credit card debt represents the underlying gambling loss and should not be counted twice as both a sportsbook loss and credit card principal. However, the interest, cash-advance fees and other costs of carrying that debt may represent separate damages when they can be documented and legally connected to the gambling addiction.

Damaged Credit May Create Additional Financial Harm

Gambling addiction can leave a young adult with maxed-out credit cards, missed payments, defaulted loans and collection accounts at the beginning of their financial life. A lower credit score does not carry one automatic dollar value. Instead, we look at what the damaged credit caused.

• Did the person have to accept a vehicle loan with a substantially higher interest rate?
• Were they denied an apartment and required to pay more for housing elsewhere?
• Did they lose the ability to qualify for a mortgage, refinance existing debt or obtain financing for school or a business?

Those consequences may create identifiable financial losses. For example, the difference between the interest a person would likely have paid with their prior credit history and the higher interest they were actually charged may be calculated over the life of a loan.

Other credit-related damages may involve increased security deposits, less favorable financing terms, collection costs or additional housing and transportation expenses caused by credit denials. Credit reports, loan applications, adverse action notices and financing offers may help establish how the gambling-related debt affected the individual’s financial future.

Gambling Addiction Treatment Expenses

A sports betting lawsuit may also seek compensation for the cost of treating gambling addiction and related mental health injuries. Depending on the individual’s circumstances, treatment may include:

• Individual counseling
• Gambling addiction programs
• Psychiatric treatment
• Medication
• Family therapy
• Outpatient rehabilitation
• Residential treatment
• Emergency mental health care

The claim may include treatment expenses that have already been incurred, as well as the reasonable cost of future care when continued treatment is expected. These damages may be especially important when the individual has been diagnosed with gambling disorder or has required treatment for anxiety, depression, insomnia, suicidal thoughts or another condition associated with the addiction and resulting financial crisis.

Medical and counseling records may serve two purposes. They can document the cost of treatment, and they can help establish the severity and duration of the psychological harm.

Lost Income and Career Damage

Compulsive sports betting may also interfere with a person’s employment. Someone struggling with a gambling addiction may spend significant time checking wagers, transferring money or attempting to recover prior losses. The financial and emotional stress may lead to missed work, reduced productivity, unpaid leave or the need to enter treatment.

If the person loses income, a claim may include compensation for missed wages, commissions, bonuses or employment benefits. The damages may become more significant if the addiction results in termination, prevents the individual from returning to the same position or forces them to accept lower-paying work.

In those cases, we may evaluate both past lost income and the effect on future earning capacity. Future earning capacity is different from wages that have already been missed. It addresses whether the person’s ability to earn money throughout their career has been reduced.

That analysis may require employment records, prior earnings histories and, in substantial cases, opinions from vocational or economic professionals.

Compensation for Academic and Educational Losses

For college students and young adults, the consequences of a gambling addiction may permanently change an educational or professional path. A student may use loan proceeds or money intended for rent, books and tuition to continue betting. At the same time, the addiction may interfere with attendance, sleep, assignments and academic performance.

When those problems lead to failed classes, lost scholarships or delayed graduation, the resulting losses may be considered as part of the claim. Potential educational damages may include:

• Tuition paid for courses that must be repeated
• Additional housing and living expenses
• Lost scholarships or financial aid
• Increased student loan costs
• Expenses associated with transferring schools
• Income lost because graduation was delayed

A reduced GPA by itself does not have a standard monetary value. We would look at the consequences that followed.

• Did the student lose a scholarship? Were they removed from a degree program?
• Did they lose an internship, graduate school opportunity or job offer?
• Did they need another semester or year to complete their education?

Those are the circumstances that may allow academic harm to be translated into an identifiable damages claim.

Student-athletes may face additional questions involving lost scholarships, eligibility, name, image and likeness income or future athletic opportunities. These claims will depend heavily on the available documentation and how certain the opportunity was before it was lost.

Emotional Distress Is Separate From Financial Losses

A financial statement can show the amount of money lost, but it cannot fully show what a gambling addiction did to the person’s life.

Someone may experience severe anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, shame or social isolation. They may live with constant fear about debt, collections, housing or how the losses will affect their family. A sports betting lawsuit may seek compensation for this emotional and psychological harm.

Non-Economic Damages

• Mental anguish and emotional distress
• Anxiety and depression
• Shame and humiliation
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Damage to family and personal relationships
• The continuing psychological effects of the addiction

These damages are not calculated by simply adding a fixed percentage to the gambling losses. There is no rule that a person who lost $100,000 will automatically receive another 25%, 50% or any other preset amount for emotional distress.

Instead, the value will depend on the facts. We look at the severity of the addiction, how long it continued, whether treatment was required, how the individual’s daily life changed and whether the emotional injuries remain ongoing. Counseling records, medical records and testimony from family members or friends may help show the extent of the harm.

How Relationship Damage May Affect Compensation

Gambling addiction is often concealed from parents, spouses and other family members until the losses become severe. When the truth is discovered, the resulting breakdown in trust may damage marriages, engagements, friendships and family relationships.

The end of a relationship does not carry an automatic settlement value. However, the loss of family stability and companionship may be part of the individual’s emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.

There may also be measurable expenses, such as counseling, family therapy or temporary housing. Whether a spouse, parent or another family member has an independent claim will depend on the applicable state law and whether that person suffered their own legally recognized loss.

What Could Sports Betting Lawsuit Compensation Look Like?

Consider a hypothetical case involving a young adult who suffered $150,000 in net losses through several sports betting apps. That $150,000 may be the starting point, but the complete damages evaluation might also identify:

• $20,000 in credit card interest, cash-advance fees and loan charges
• $12,000 in gambling addiction and mental health treatment
• $30,000 in wages lost while receiving treatment and recovering
• Increased financing costs caused by damaged credit
• Severe anxiety, depression and loss of enjoyment of life

In that example, the potential claim would not be limited to the $150,000 lost through betting. The additional economic losses may also be included when they are documented and sufficiently connected to the gambling addiction. The person may also seek non-economic damages for the psychological and personal harm.

However, this does not mean every case involving $150,000 in betting losses will have the same value. Another individual with the same amount of gambling losses may not have incurred substantial interest, required treatment or missed work. A third person may have suffered much greater academic, career or mental health consequences.

That is why the amount deposited into sportsbook accounts cannot determine the value of a case by itself.

Factors That May Determine the Value of a Sports Betting Lawsuit

When negotiating a future settlement with FanDuel, DraftKings or another sports betting platform, the amount of compensation our lawyers can pursue will be impacted by the complete history of the individual’s betting activity and the consequences that followed. Important factors may include:

• The amount of net gambling losses
• The source of the funds used to bet
• Interest, fees and other costs caused by gambling-related debt
• Damage to the individual’s credit
• Treatment received for gambling addiction or mental health injuries
• Lost income or reduced future earning capacity
• Lost tuition, scholarships or educational opportunities
• The duration and severity of the addiction
• The effect on the individual’s emotional health and daily life
• The available evidence connecting those losses to the alleged misconduct

The strength of the evidence is critical. Sportsbook records, bank statements and credit card statements may establish the direct financial losses. Credit reports and loan documents may show the longer-term financial impact. Employment, school and medical records may document the additional harm.

Speak With a Sports Betting Addiction Lawyer

If you or your child developed a gambling addiction and suffered substantial losses after using DraftKings, FanDuel or another sportsbook app, it is important to look beyond the total amount deposited into the account.

A potential claim may include compensation for the money lost through betting, as well as gambling-related interest and fees, credit damage, treatment expenses, lost income, academic setbacks and emotional harm.

Saiontz & Kirk is reviewing potential sports betting lawsuits for young adults and college students throughout the United States. There are no upfront costs to have a claim reviewed, and no attorney fees or expenses are paid unless compensation is obtained.

FIND OUT IF YOU QUALIFY FOR SPORTS BETTING LAWSUIT COMPENSATION

Sports Betting Lawsuit Compensation FAQs

Can I sue FanDuel for gambling losses?

You may be able to pursue a FanDuel lawsuit if you developed a gambling addiction, suffered substantial financial losses and have evidence that FanDuel continued encouraging you to bet despite signs of compulsive gambling behavior. Whether you have a claim will depend on your betting history, the communications you received, the losses you suffered and the laws that apply to your case.

Can you sue FanDuel for causing a gambling addiction?

Potential lawsuits against FanDuel may allege that the company used targeted promotions, bonuses, VIP representatives and detailed customer data to encourage continued betting by users who were showing signs of gambling addiction. However, developing a gambling problem alone does not automatically establish a claim. The evidence must connect the alleged conduct to the addiction and resulting damages.

Can I recover the money I lost on DraftKings, FanDuel or another sportsbook?

A sports betting lawsuit may seek compensation for net gambling losses, which generally involves comparing the money deposited into sportsbook accounts with the money withdrawn. The total amount wagered may be much higher because winnings are often used to place additional bets.

What damages can be recovered in a sports betting lawsuit?

Depending on the facts, compensation may include net gambling losses, credit card interest, loan fees, treatment expenses, lost wages, academic losses, damaged earning capacity and emotional distress. Punitive damages may also be requested in certain cases if the evidence supports the required legal standard.

Can a sports betting lawsuit include credit card debt and interest?

The principal placed on a credit card may represent the same money already included in the gambling loss calculation and should not be counted twice. However, additional interest, cash-advance charges, late fees and collection costs may represent separate financial damages.

Can I receive compensation for damaged credit after gambling losses?

A lower credit score does not have one standard dollar value. Compensation may instead focus on the financial consequences of damaged credit, such as higher loan rates, increased security deposits, denied financing or additional housing and transportation costs.

Can college students recover lost tuition or scholarships?

A college student may be able to seek compensation for additional tuition, lost scholarships, increased student loan costs and other educational expenses if a gambling addiction caused failed classes, delayed graduation or loss of financial aid. The claim must show how the academic harm resulted in measurable losses.

Can I recover damages if sports betting caused me to lose my job?

A potential claim may include missed wages, lost benefits, bonuses, commissions or future earning losses if the gambling addiction interfered with employment. The evidence must establish a connection between the addiction and the job loss or reduced ability to earn income.

Can sports betting lawsuits include pain and suffering?

A lawsuit may seek non-economic damages for anxiety, depression, shame, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life and other emotional harm. These damages are evaluated separately and are not calculated by automatically adding a fixed percentage to the amount lost through gambling.

How much compensation could I receive from a sports betting lawsuit?

There is no standard sports betting lawsuit settlement amount. Compensation will depend on the net gambling losses, interest and fees, treatment expenses, academic or employment consequences, emotional harm and the strength of the evidence connecting those damages to the sportsbook’s alleged conduct.

Can parents file a sports betting lawsuit for an adult child?

Parents may be able to help an adult child investigate a claim, but the person who used the sportsbook and suffered the losses will generally be the primary claimant. Parents may have separate claims only in limited circumstances, such as when their own money was taken or they suffered a legally recognized financial loss.