Bookmakers Reward Losing Bettors While Limiting Winners
WHO:
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Brianne Doura-Schawohl, director for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said betting companies “have to ensure that the house always wins,” and argued that limiting was unfair amid advertising that tells people they can win.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - U.S. lawmakers wrote to major gambling platforms about vulnerable bettors receiving VIP status after frequent losses.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Mike Manning, a full-time professional bettor (“sharp”), said online platforms restricted his bets after he won.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Gadoon Kyrollos, a professional sports bettor who is often limited, described the practice as a “ban or bankrupt” model.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Matthew Litt, a New Jersey attorney who works on gambling cases, said limiting is legal unless it discriminates based on protected characteristics such as race or religion.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Michael Trevithick of Ann Arbor, Michigan, showed CBS News a DraftKings betting ticket with a 49-cent maximum wager on the NBA Cup.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Chris Swett, a former highly paid South Carolina attorney, pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. He stole about $2 million from his law firm to fund his gambling addiction and faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
WHAT:
CBS News - The National Problem Gambling Helpline offers help by call or text at 1-800-MY-RESET; Gamblers Anonymous has a national hotline at 1-855-222-5542.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Sports betting platforms reward some customers who lose large sums with VIP perks while restricting successful bettors’ wagers, sometimes to under $20 or even under 50 cents.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - U.S. lawmakers said perks—including exclusive events, celebrity and athlete videos, and Super Bowl tickets—can distract frequent losing bettors from financial losses and encourage further betting.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - DraftKings said it applies customer-specific wagering limits to less than 0.15% of accounts as an enterprise risk control, generally when activity appears designed to exploit errors or target odds discrepancies; it said decisions depend on customer behavior, not whether customers are winning or losing.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - The Massachusetts Gaming Commission found that 0.64% of Massachusetts betting accounts had been restricted. It also found that winning gamblers’ limits decreased while losing gamblers’ limits increased.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Manning said DraftKings limited him to $25 per bet. At BetMGM, after he bet $1,000–$5,000 per game, his allowed wager fell to $5. BetMGM declined to comment.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Massachusetts became the first state to require operators to notify limited bettors and state why. FanDuel cited Manning’s “overall wagering patterns” and their impact on its long-term risk position; DraftKings cited “internal risk management purposes.”
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Swett said he wagered $5,000–$10,000 monthly by 2019. A FanDuel employee said customers spending $25,000 monthly could qualify for a VIP host, who offered tickets and complimentary fantasy-contest entries if Swett wagered enough.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Swett said that over a two-year span he wagered $11 million and lost about $1 million on FanDuel. He said a host offered a 4% bonus on new bets after Swett wrote, “I think I’m tapped out this month...”
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - FanDuel said it has added employee training and technologies to identify and stop problem gambling, and offers deposit limits, timeouts, and self-exclusion tools.
WHERE:
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Massachusetts regulators investigated betting-limit practices; Manning also used apps after Massachusetts launched sports betting.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Swett’s fraud involved his South Carolina law firm; he pleaded guilty in federal court.
WHEN:
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - The Massachusetts Gaming Commission took up limiting in 2024 and reported its investigation’s findings last year.
WHY:
CBS News - FanDuel said it is an entertainment company, not a tool for professional bettors to gain an edge or earn a living, and that sports betting platforms use financial-risk controls in rare cases involving sophisticated income-generation strategies.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - DraftKings described individual betting limits as based on customer profiles and the company’s enterprise risk level in a 2023 SEC filing.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - FanDuel said platforms use risk controls in rare cases involving sophisticated strategies intended to generate income or gain an edge.
HOW:
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Operators limit bets at the individual-account level; DraftKings’ 2023 SEC filing said limits are managed according to customer profiles and enterprise risk.
[08:41 EDT] - CBS News - Swett said he later submitted fake legal-work invoices to defraud his firm and its clients after running out of money.
(UPDATED October 26, 2026 22:08 UTC)
Sports betting platforms may shower customers who lose heavily with VIP perks while sharply limiting successful bettors, sometimes to wagers of less than a dollar; Massachusetts regulators found winning gamblers’ limits decreased while losing gamblers’ limits increased. DraftKings says it restricts fewer than 0.15 percent of accounts for risk-control reasons, while lawmakers are questioning whether perks such as event tickets and celebrity videos encourage vulnerable bettors to keep wagering. In South Carolina, former attorney Chris Swett pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after stealing about $2 million to fund his gambling, and people seeking help can call or text the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET.
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(UPDATED October 26, 2026 15:34 UTC)
Sports betting platforms can lavish losing customers with VIP perks while restricting successful bettors to wagers of just a few dollars or even cents, prompting U.S. lawmakers to question whether the practices exploit vulnerable gamblers. Massachusetts regulators found that winning bettors’ limits tended to fall while losing bettors’ limits rose, and the state now requires operators to notify restricted customers and explain why. FanDuel and DraftKings say limits are risk controls, while former attorney Chris Swett pleaded guilty to stealing about $2 million to fund his gambling and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.