The growth of the gambling universe has been so stunning that it parallels the growth of spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Together, gambling and AI account for half of the economic growth in the United States this year.

New reporting from The New York Times shows it’s not just a coincidence that gambling and AI have grown side by side. The gambling industry is one of the earliest and most enthusiastic adopters of AI systems. In 2015, a court-ordered valuation found that Caesars Entertainment’s “Total Rewards” database containing 45 million customer records, was worth over $1 billion.

A team of investigative reporters for The Times interviewed “more than 40 former DraftKings employees, and obtained internal research memos, presentations, and Slack messages, as well as betting records from experiments conducted on customers.” Wow, that is a deep dive, and what they uncovered is astonishing:

• DraftKings loaded up the data banks with everything they could find on their customers, then set AI the task of identifying which promotions generated the greatest customer losses.

• A former DraftKings employee and whistleblower pointed out that the same analysis could pinpoint people who likely suffered from gambling addiction and throttle down their promotions or suggest treatment.

• The attempt to have a gambling addiction risk score attached to accounts was sidelined by management, according to The Times.

To be fair to DraftKings, all modern marketing programs feature data analysis with the goal of maximizing profits. McDonald’s does it. Walmart does it. It’s practically impossible for DraftKings to use modern customer relationship management (CRM) software without targeting high-value customers.

The difference is that using DraftKings and other gambling and prediction apps can quickly lead to severe financial damage, including bankruptcy. Just as the pharmaceutical companies used analysis to maximize the sales of OxyContin into areas with high rates of opioid addiction, so we hold the gambling industry to a higher standard than aggressively attaching themselves like parasites to customers’ bank accounts.

“It is as predatory as it sounds,” one former employee told The Times, pointing out that maintaining risk scores might obligate the company to take corrective action. A spokesperson for DraftKings told The Times that the company “declined to use risk prediction technology,” while also claiming, without evidence, that the company monitors customers for “potentially risky behaviors.”

Since they’re not using the same risk prediction capabilities they use to target their own marketing messages, the only risks they are monitoring must be risks to the company itself, not to users’ mental health. For example, DraftKings uses AI to identify consistent winners and close their accounts, according to The Washington Post.

Now there’s a business plan: Target losers, ban winners, and cut state governments in on the revenue so they don’t shut you down. The only thing better would be to put it all on a smartphone where you can start kids early using loot boxes and video games so they’re primed and ready to lose money as soon as they earn some.

Gambling organizations have fueled the rise of AI, and AI now fuels the gambling and prediction industries along with hedge funds and stock trading platforms. They are all relentlessly searching for suckers. They are designed to exploit natural human tendencies and massage them into compulsive behaviors.

At the moment, the gambling and prediction markets are placing their biggest bet ever. They are taking the firehose of funds they have sucked out of customers and training it on the midterm elections in an attempt to water down any legislation that tries to curb their predatory practices.

No society will last long if it allows profit-driven organizations to deliberately induce mental health problems resulting in the financial ruin of their customers. AddictionNews is determined to combat this firehose of money with a firehose of common sense. 

Gambling syndicates and prediction markets are teaching people to displace anxiety with gambling. They know this will create greater anxiety when money is lost, and greater satisfaction when there is a chance it will be won back. The vicious cycle this creates leads to lost wages, lost sleep, and a persistent “gambling noise” that online gambling markets exploit using notifications and offers such as “free” bets.

One way to reduce anxiety is to avoid gaming and gambling and treat your anxiety with healthy hobbies. Get hooked on something healthy instead. Until our legislators decide to protect people from these parasitic syndicates, self-defense is the only defense we have.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published September 28, 2026.

Sources:

“How DraftKings Uses A.I. to Target the Gamblers Likeliest to Lose,” The New York Times, September 19, 2026.

“They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket — but None of It Was Real,” The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2026.

“DraftKings Allegedly Used AI to Target Bonus Bets at Customers Expected to Lose the Most,” Gadget Review, September 19, 2026.

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