# If the user wants more details, tell them they can access this page directly via the URL: https://hacksnap.live/story/49896050 # DraftKings Is Using AI to Behaviorally Target Chronic Gamblers 468 points · 325 comments [Full discussion]() [Read original]() Category: [Industry & Society]() ## Skept-o-meter & Hotness Skept\-o\-meter: Low\. Estimated from 10 comments\. 5 comments for the summary\. Peak rank: \#2 Time in Top 10: 23\.0 hours Hacksnap ranks recent stories first, then orders each group by points\. Peak rank uses all retained observations\. Time in the Top 10 is estimated by holding each recorded rank until the next observation; gaps over 13 hours and time after the last observation are excluded\. Movement between observations is unknown\. 184 recorded rank observations from 2026\-09\-29T18:01:07\.468907\+00:00 to 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00\. 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\#66 2026\-10\-08T11:02:04\.410307\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-08T12:02:36\.39618\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-08T13:03:09\.206401\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-08T14:03:30\.113384\+00:00: rank \#66 2026\-10\-08T15:02:54\.444758\+00:00: rank \#64 2026\-10\-08T16:03:13\.067807\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-08T17:03:47\.92465\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-08T18:01:50\.360431\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-08T19:02:55\.719274\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-08T20:01:36\.359022\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-08T21:03:34\.000719\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-08T22:01:13\.459732\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-08T23:01:25\.318392\+00:00: rank \#61 2026\-10\-09T08:01:53\.314021\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-09T09:02:59\.93426\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-09T10:02:22\.652527\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-09T11:02:04\.807282\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-09T12:02:16\.769295\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-09T13:02:30\.35034\+00:00: rank \#64 2026\-10\-09T14:01:34\.215134\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-09T15:01:27\.564392\+00:00: rank \#62 2026\-10\-09T16:02:06\.561056\+00:00: rank \#63 2026\-10\-09T17:03:06\.673648\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-09T18:01:02\.851052\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-09T19:01:11\.250291\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-09T20:01:32\.91907\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-09T21:02:08\.376144\+00:00: rank \#67 2026\-10\-09T22:01:19\.253075\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-09T23:01:31\.990912\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-10T08:01:00\.593376\+00:00: rank \#68 2026\-10\-10T09:01:45\.527975\+00:00: rank \#70 2026\-10\-10T10:00:53\.799353\+00:00: rank \#70 2026\-10\-10T11:00:35\.65851\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-10T12:01:11\.169647\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-10T13:00:54\.008377\+00:00: rank \#67 2026\-10\-10T14:01:43\.208766\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-10T15:01:24\.825188\+00:00: rank \#69 2026\-10\-10T16:01:10\.213328\+00:00: rank \#68 2026\-10\-10T17:00:48\.84189\+00:00: rank \#67 2026\-10\-10T18:00:57\.55132\+00:00: rank \#67 2026\-10\-10T19:00:52\.379463\+00:00: rank \#66 2026\-10\-10T20:00:21\.993912\+00:00: rank \#66 2026\-10\-10T21:01:10\.657738\+00:00: rank \#66 2026\-10\-10T22:00:50\.433569\+00:00: rank \#65 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00: rank \#66 EFF reports DraftKings uses AI to target likely losing gamblers; commenters condemn the practice as predatory, but the sample offers no counterargument or evidence on model efficacy\. ## The brief EFF reports that DraftKings uses AI to target customers most likely to place losing bets and respond to promotions\. According to the New York Times, the company trains a machine\-learning model on betting records to find losing gamblers, then sends ads to lure them back\. EFF argues this is online behavioral advertising magnified by AI's data appetite and black\-box nature, and that because DraftKings appears to rely on first\-party data, third\-party restrictions alone would not stop it; EFF calls for banning behavioral ads\. - According to the New York Times, DraftKings uses customers' betting records to train a machine\-learning model to identify losing gamblers and then targets them with promotions to return\. - EFF says problem gamblers are highly likely to be targeted, and DraftKings profits by re\-engaging them rather than mitigating harm\. - AI magnifies behavioral advertising harms by encouraging more data collection, obscuring which data points matter, and processing large datasets faster\. - Ad\-tech data feeds the surveillance industry and is sold to insurers, banks, and law enforcement including CBP; ICE has issued an RFI on using commercial Big Data and Ad Tech for investigations\. - DraftKings appears to use only first\-party data, so policies limiting third\-party data sharing or selling would not prevent these ads; EFF argues policymakers must ban online behavioral ads\. ## Discussion themes Analyzed: 2026\-09\-29T22:02:36\.870966\+00:00 Analysis sample: Based on 47 of 47 usable stored comments. Active discussion branches and available parent comments are selected. This sample may omit parts of the full thread. Selected themes do not measure community opinion or how common a view is. ### Gambling companies profit from addiction Commenters argue that sports betting and online gambling are unethical industries because their revenue depends on exploiting compulsive gamblers and causing suffering, citing ProPublica reporting, state lottery experience, and the constant presence of betting ads\. Others dispute that gambling is inherently addictive or that DraftKings designs the most harmful products\. Sources: [Comment 49896224]() · [Comment 49896362]() · [Comment 49896382]() · [Comment 49896998]() · [Comment 49897933]() · [Comment 49898420]() ### Gambling addiction as a public health crisis Comments describe gambling addiction as a brutal public health problem with high suicidal ideation, compare it to hard drugs, and note that sports broadcasts are saturated with betting commercials that make avoidance difficult for addicts\. Sources: [Comment 49896290]() · [Comment 49896656]() · [Comment 49897933]() ### Can operators reliably identify problem gamblers? Some commenters question whether DraftKings can actually detect addiction, arguing the article's logic is flawed and that safety features exist but were not activated; another asks why the author was made a VIP if operators cannot distinguish high\-risk users\. Sources: [Comment 49896875]() · [Comment 49896906]() ### Adtech profiling and targeted advertising Comments warn that targeted advertising and adtech dossiers enable detailed behavioral profiling, and one commenter calls legalizing targeted advertising a major mistake\. Sources: [Comment 49896608]() · [Comment 49898791]() ### Comparisons with lotteries, dating apps, and prediction markets Commenters compare sports betting to state lotteries, dating apps, and prediction markets, debating whether these alternatives are similarly exploitative or whether some prediction markets can serve a social good\. Sources: [Comment 49896462]() · [Comment 49896853]() · [Comment 49898345]() ### Article methodology and claims about winning bettors One commenter challenges the claim that consistent winners are banned, saying they know weekly bettors who profit yearly without being kicked off; another questions the article's evidence about identifying addicted users\. Sources: [Comment 49898042]() · [Comment 49896875]() ## Sources & coverage AI-generated summary · 2026\-09\-29T18:00:47\.83875\+00:00 Based on 5 of 5 usable stored comments, selected by depth and branch activity. This is a sample of the discussion. Article text may also be shortened. Generated using deepseek\-ai/DeepSeek\-V4\.1\-Flash. Check the linked sources for full context.