A sports bettor in Illinois filed on March 2 a class action lawsuit against Betfair Interactive US, LLC, dba FanDuel Sportsbook alleging it misstated the time remaining in games.
In the suit, a copy of which was obtained by Gaming America, Andrew Melnick said he downloaded the app for FanDuel on his Android smartphone on 26 February and deposited $100 into his account the same day.
On 28 February, Melnick began placing bets on college basketball games. His wager of choice was live wagers on under bets, meaning the actual final score of a given game would be less than the over/under number posted by the sportsbook.
The suit notes FanDuel’s betting platform purports to display on the user’s phone the time elapsed, score and the odds of a given wager in a given sporting event on a real-time basis.
But Melnick alleges the supposed real-time was “repeatedly false and materially so.”
The suit includes screen shots of the New Orleans v. Incarnate Word NCAA men’s college basketball game on 1 March; the first at 8:52pm and the second a minute later at 8:53pm. The first shows six minutes remaining in the second half of the game, while the second shows eight minutes remaining in the second half of the same game.
“While purporting to provide its customers with real-time, live sports game data, FanDuel regularly understates the time remaining in a given live sporting event in order to induce its customers to make wagers that they are more likely to lose, and/or that are riskier than if they were being provided accurate, real-time information in connection with their live wagering,” the complaint states.
The suit alleges FanDuel is engaging in “an unlawful pattern and practice of unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
The plaintiff and his class seek damages to be determined, plus an order prohibiting FanDuel from engaging in the alleged acts.
Melnick is represented by two attorneys based in Chicago: Daniel J. Voelker, Voelker Litigation Group, and Randall B. Gold, Fox & Fox.
Gaming America reached out to FanDuel but the company declined to comment. FanDuel has yet to file an official response.
