Wife sues online gaming sites over husband's losses

Sarah Fowler | Clarion Ledger

The wife of a Mississippi gambler who used gaming websites has filed two federal class-action lawsuits seeking to recover her husband's losses.

The suits, one against DraftKings and one against FanDuel, were filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The case has been assigned to the Greenville Division, said Marc Boutwell, attorney for plaintiff Julie Whitfield Herod.

Herod asks to recover "losses on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated within the State of Mississippi."

The suits each list Herod as the plaintiff, but they were filed as class-action lawsuits. Herod's husband, Dan Herod, gambled on DraftKings and FanDuel and lost money on both sites.

Under Mississippi law, code section 87-1-5, spouses and children of gamblers can "sue for and recover such money, property, or other valuable things so lost and paid or delivered."

Neither FanDuel nor DraftKings has a gaming license in Mississippi. Nor does either have a license pending, according to the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

"They're conducting what we believe and looks to us in the statute is an illegal gaming operation via the Internet in Mississippi," Boutwell said. "I don’t think they’ll have any choice but to shut down in Mississippi."

He added, "We have very well-controlled gaming in Mississippi with casinos and such. Their operation does not fit an approved status in this state, and we’re asserting it’s illegal."

The complaint against DraftKings states Herod and her husband have "sustained ascertainable losses arising out of DraftKings Inc., systemic and continued violation of the Mississippi Statutory civil and various criminal laws."

The complaint claims DraftKings violated Mississippi Code 87-1-7, 97-31-1 and 97-33-1 as well as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In the complaint against FanDuel, Herod alleges the website is "operating an illegal online sports betting business within the State of Mississippi."

"In an attempt to circumvent Mississippi law, FanDuel Inc. defines its sports betting scheme as a game of skill," the complaint reads. "After the sporting events are concluded, FanDuel calculates a score using the scheme they created that assigns values (points) based upon the performance of athletes and teams engaged in amateur and professional athletic competitions."

DraftKings and FanDuel could not be reached for comment.

Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or (601) 961-7601. Follow @SarahFowler on Twitter.