DraftKings entered into a consent agreement Thursday with the Maryland Lottery to pay a $94,400 fine.
The financial penalty comes after a recently conducted audit by the Maryland Lottery found that the mobile sportsbook operator sent sports betting marketing materials to people under the age of 21 in December. The materials were delivered to underage bettors who were fantasy sports customers.
You can play fantasy sports in Maryland when you turn 18, but you can’t bet on sports until you’re 21 — and it’s against Maryland law for sports betting operators to market to people under the age of 21.
Maryland’s sports wagering regulator isn’t the first to fine DraftKings for marketing to underage individuals. The Ohio Casino Control Commission fined DraftKings for a similar infraction that occurred in late 2022.
Other infractions
The Maryland Lottery’s audit also led to fines for PENN Sports Interactive (Barstool Sportsbook), Rush Street Interactive (BetRivers), FanDuel, and PointsBet.
Rush Street ($6,000) and PointsBet ($14,000) were fined for “issues involving the maintenance or use of their sports wagering reserve accounts,” according to a lottery spokesperson.
FanDuel was fined for a similar issue, as well as being a day late with one of its tax payments. FanDuel’s fines totaled $4,250.
Penn Sports was fined $2,000 for allowing a pair of voluntarily excluded individuals to create and use sports betting accounts.
Licensing discussions
At Thursday’s meeting, the Maryland Lottery approved FanDuel to operate a retail sportsbook at Sports & Social Bethesda in North Bethesda. FanDuel’s mobile sportsbook app is operational in Maryland, and the market leader has a retail sportsbook at Live! Casino in Hanover.
There were also brief acquisition discussions Thursday, as the lottery approved Fanatics’ acquisition of PointsBet. Fanatics Sportsbook is already licensed and operational in Maryland, so the acquisition of PointsBet wasn’t needed for market access in the state. The lottery also approved Entain’s purchase of ASF Limited.
The lottery’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 28.
