• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
LeadershipAI

DraftKings CEO rebuffs argument that AI could make sports betting more addictive: ‘There is some onus on the individual’

Emma Burleigh
By
Emma Burleigh
Emma Burleigh
Reporter, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
Emma Burleigh
By
Emma Burleigh
Emma Burleigh
Reporter, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 5, 2024, 9:51 AM ET
Jason Robins, chief executive officer and co-founder of DraftKings
Jason Robins, cofounder and CEO of DraftKings.
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Artificial intelligence has been heralded for its ability to optimize tasks, from the menial to the more complex. But could it push unhealthy habits to a new extreme?

Recommended Video

Like most organizations, DraftKings, the sports betting company, has increasingly incorporated AI into its business, amassing a trove of user data to enhance the platform. 

But some argue that optimizing gambling could lead consumers down a dopamine rabbit hole by stoking the exact addictive behaviors that keep clients engaged.

The argument goes that once AI discerns what users want, it serves it up in a compelling, streamlined format. One need only look at e-commerce platforms as an example, which use AI to tailor shopping to a consumer’s exact tastes, keeping them in a loop of customized consumption. 

Speaking with Fortune Executive Exchange, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said while the company takes gambling addictions very seriously, it shouldn’t accept full responsibility for preventing it.

“It’s not this black-and-white line,” he said. “There is some onus on the individual in these situations, too. But there’s a role we also have to play. We have to make sure that we’re both doing what we can to prevent it.”

To curb harmful fixations, Robins said the company offers tools that enable users to create limits for themselves, such as capping their monthly spending or time spent betting. DraftKings also employs a team dedicated to assessing high-risk users. If the team notices a client is betting for too long or spending a concerning amount of money, for instance, an employee reaches out to create some friction and assess the harm. Robins added that DraftKings’ advertisements list resources in its fine print, such as a help hotline for gambling addiction.

Still, using AI presents a deeper conundrum for a sports betting company that could hypothetically learn the language of addiction.

“We’re not using AI in that way,” Robins argued. Were we ever to employ AI in a way that was trying to do things that would show certain products or whatever, it would be much more ease-of-use driven.” He said that at this point, the company uses AI mainly for chatbot functions, to write code, and to find areas in which it can boost client satisfaction rather than ramp up gambling.

“If I’m betting on a particular football team every single week, and you are continuing to make me scroll down 12 pages to find that, that’s annoying,” Robins said. “You want it to be up top. No different than Netflix or Amazon showing you you just bought socks last time. ‘Here, click it if you want to buy it again.’ So I think it’s much more convenience-oriented.”

Nevertheless, industry titans like Amazon and Netflix do use AI to gather data on consumer behavior and curate personalized featured products and content that influence their audiences to engage with their sites longer. Despite this, Robins said he remains unconvinced that AI has the power to create or augment addictions.

“People who have gambling issues, they’re going to have a gambling issue,” he said. “And the job is to help identify those people and get them the help and get them to understand they need help.” But he added: “It has to be on them to decide that they want to change that behavior.”

Robins acknowledged that it could be tricky asking users flagged as high-risk by DraftKings’ system to cut back. If a player has already lost a substantial amount of money, requesting them to stop can feel upsetting. But he noted that if DraftKings draws in users with betting addictions, then it didn’t do a good enough job of ensuring that people with an addiction don’t make it onto the platform in the first place.

“You have to try to build the product so that it’s providing value for the people who should be playing it. And the people who shouldn’t be playing it, you have to try to have them not play the product,” Robins said.

He believes AI can play a role in that. “​​AI can actually be helpful in that regard by having good models that identify player behavior patterns and then having means of intervening when you find that there’s somebody that you think has an issue,” Robins said. “But it’s a delicate thing, right? All we can do is flag high-risk situations and then have more manual interventions that dig into them.”

About the Author
Emma Burleigh
By Emma BurleighReporter, Success

Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Before joining the Success desk, she co-authored Fortune’s CHRO Daily newsletter, extensively covering the workplace and the future of jobs. Emma has also written for publications including the Observer and The China Project, publishing long-form stories on culture, entertainment, and geopolitics. She has a joint-master’s degree from New York University in Global Journalism and East Asian Studies.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

mg
CommentaryHealth
The ‘tech neck’ time bomb: why 43 million young Americans could cripple U.S. health care within a generation
By Michael GerlingJune 24, 2026
3 minutes ago
Sarah Youngwood, EVP and CFO at Nasdaq.
C-SuiteFinance
Inside Nasdaq CFO Sarah Youngwood’s AI playbook
By Sheryl EstradaJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
Business is moving past the tech bro era and learning to value ‘real people, real places’
NewslettersCEO Daily
Business is moving past the tech bro era and learning to value ‘real people, real places’
By Diane BradyJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
Now she’s worth $200 million—and Sarah Jessica Parker thanks being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
SuccessCareer Advice
Now she’s worth $200 million—and Sarah Jessica Parker thanks being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s first pitch to Elon Musk failed. Then he turned his ‘hobby’ into a $1.3 trillion success
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Tesla cofounder JB Straubel’s first pitch to Elon Musk failed. Then he turned his ‘hobby’ into a $1.3 trillion success
By Rachel VentrescaJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
The hidden cost of your AI rollout: burning out the high performers running it
Workplace Cultureburnout
The hidden cost of your AI rollout: burning out the high performers running it
By Mikaela Cohen and HR BrewJune 23, 2026
15 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
23 hours ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
23 hours ago
Meet the 2 men putting New York's $300 billion pension fund in play for the first time in 20 years
Investing
Meet the 2 men putting New York's $300 billion pension fund in play for the first time in 20 years
By Nick LichtenbergJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.