NEW: I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company’s “responsible gaming” safeguards. Spoiler Alert:…

NEW: I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company’s “responsible gaming” safeguards. Spoiler Alert: They invited me into the VIP program after just one week. Here’s how I yeeted $20K+ ripping riskier and risker bets 🧵

Why now? More and more people are betting on sports. But as the industry soars close to $17B in revenue, calls to gambling helplines have also skyrocketed.

As public scrutiny grows, DraftKings and the other big operators stress that their safeguards work. An exec told me if someone shows too many signs of problem gambling, they’ll proactively close the account — though she declined to say how many times DraftKings has done so.

So over 10 weeks I’d mimic the patterns of a problem gambler with the help of a panel of gambling experts and learn just how much DraftKings would encourage my recklessness — and just how little pushback I’d get as I spiraled downward. propublica.org/article/draftk…

@propublica bankrolled me and I opened my account in April. I waved my first red flag during a Knicks game by loss chasing, or attempting to recoup my continued losses by making more and bigger bets. Soon, I was already down ~$2K — most of it blown in one night.

The next day an email popped in my inbox: ‘Welcome to the DraftKings VIP Showcase.’ I couldn’t believe it. My night of loss chasing was being rewarded. Reading the fine print, I was floored: The more I spent on long-odds wagers, the faster I’d advance through the ranks.

An expert explained that losers like me are the bettors that sports betting companies want most. A small group of accounts for a large portion of revenue. VIP programs = loyalty. The more you bet, the more you get: free bets/swag/fancy dinners. h/t @PhillyInquirer

As the @nytimes reported, DraftKings uses machine learning & data scientists to entice losing customers with promos to keep going — even if those are the customers most at risk of becoming addicts. The company says it doesn’t unfairly target people. nytimes.com/2026/09/19/bus…

A month in, I was betting so much that DraftKings’ quick-tap deposit buttons had increased to $500, $750 and $950, making it even easier to mindlessly transfer money into my account. I was also getting pummeled with push alerts inviting me to bet more.

By late May, I was waving all the red flags of a compulsive gambler and had blown through thousands. Yet the only pushback I got from DraftKings were “responsible gaming” prompts that required me to opt in — prompts that were easily swept away.

I eventually decided to set in-app limits on how much I could deposit and how much time I could spend on the app. I received the first of four promotional push alerts just half an hour later.

When I told Lori Kalani, DraftKings’ responsible gaming chief, that it felt like the pushes undermined my attempt to slow down, she disagrees. “People use our tools all the time,” she said. “And they also appreciate being offered” promos other customers get.

Kalani also said the “system worked the way it was supposed to” for me. I didn’t qualify for a manual review, despite depositing $21,600 into my account in eight weeks. When I asked her if DraftKings ever *did* cut people off, this is what I got:

This story takes wild turns: baseball blackjack. Czech table tennis. My own DraftKings rep who didn’t blink when I asked for a (hypothetical!) match on a $25K deposit. I even won big with the Knicks and wondered: Am I actually good at this? But like most bettors, I wasn’t.

There’s much more to the story — you can read it here — but I came away with one overarching takeaway: the “responsible gaming” prompts DraftKings served me were no match for the product design and promos pushing me to do more gambling. propublica.org/article/draftk…

I also want to acknowledge that this was a controlled experiment. I could walk away. That’s not always easy for everyone. I couldn’t — and didn’t try — to mimic how problem gambling can impact your real life outside the app in harmful ways.

We’re still reporting on this topic. If you use apps like DraftKings and FanDuel or have experience in the gambling industry, you can help our reporting by sharing your transaction history with us. projects.propublica.org/sports-betting…