The Public Health Advocacy Institute filed a product liability lawsuit against DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG), FanDuel, Genius Sports Ltd. (NYSE: GENI) and the National Football League, alleging the defendants develop and distribute unreasonably dangerous online sports betting platforms.

The complaint, filed in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, claims the defendants use artificial intelligence and machine learning to create addicted gamblers and encourage microbets. The plaintiffs are two Pennsylvania residents, Christopher Sage and Terry Thompson, who used DraftKings and FanDuel sportsbook applications.

According to the lawsuit, the NFL was the largest shareholder in Genius Sports from 2021 to 2025 and remains the second-largest shareholder. Genius Sports supplies officially licensed NFL data to online sportsbooks and powers more than 98% of the sports betting market with NFL data, the complaint states.

The lawsuit alleges DraftKings and FanDuel assigned each plaintiff a personal "VIP Host" who communicated through mobile phones and provided promotional offers, trips and gifts. The contact continued even after at least one plaintiff indicated they no longer wanted to participate in online betting on the DraftKings platform, according to the complaint.

Sports-related gambling has grown from $430 million in 2018 to a record $16.96 billion in 2025, according to the press release. In Pennsylvania, sportsbooks generated nearly $775 million in revenue from July 2024 through June 2025 based on more than $8.7 billion in wagers.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages under Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, alleging design defects, failure to warn about dangerous products, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.