Thread

DraftKings is using AI to behaviorally target chronic gamblers

570 points · 432 comments · paimapi

tedivm · 1790700196 · focus · HN ↗
ProPublica had one of their reports work with gambling addition experts to see how DraftKings would respond to someone presenting signs of a gambling problem. It's a hell of a read, and makes it clear that this company is full of people with absolutely no ethics whatsoever.
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/draftkings-sports-gambling-problem-vip-fanduel" rel="nofollow">https://www.propublica.org/article/draftkings-sports-gamblin...
1. jimbo808 · 1790701282 · focus · HN ↗
  > this company is full of people with absolutely no ethics whatsoever
  I believe this applies to any company which sells an inherently harmful, predatory, and addictive product or service
  1. SoftTalker · 1790702655 · focus · HN ↗
    Hope you're including all the state governments and their lotteries in this assessment.
    tuvix · 1790703323 · focus · HN ↗
    The incentives driving state lotteries are not nearly as strong as those driving private companies like Draft Kings but yeah not great either.
    Used to work at 7-Eleven and we would have people come in and out for hours on end pouring money into scratch tickets.
    State lotteries are just a regressive tax targeting the poor.
    autoexec · 1790705342 · focus · HN ↗
    > State lotteries are just a regressive tax targeting the poor.
    As bad as the odds are, the lottery is still the best chance most players will ever have to be millionaires
    fragmede · 1790705738 · focus · HN ↗
    To be a millionaire, maybe, but a $300/month scrather habit over 20 years, in a 401k that's just the SP 500 gets you a quarter million dollars, which isn't nothing to retire on, vs approximately $0 from scratchers.
    gambiting · 1790705879 · focus · HN ↗
    Dude no offense but you must be vastly overestimating how many people can save $300 a month. We're talking about people buying couple lottery tickets a month.
    rootusrootus · 1790716048 · focus · HN ↗
    > We're talking about people buying couple lottery tickets a month
    Those people do not have a gambling problem, though. They are dropping a few bucks a month to buy a daydream. It could be worse, they could be spending 10x that on Starbucks.

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