Former NFL employee who embezzled $22 million blames FanDuel for fueling gambling addiction

Amit Patel, who is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence in South Carolina, filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York on Tuesday, claiming FanDuel ignored its own responsible gambling and anti-money laundering protocols, knew that Patel was an employee of the NFL team and therefore ineligible to play legally, and knew that the $20 million he bet on years of daily fantasy sports was stolen or not from – a legitimate source.

FanDuel declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit alleged that FanDuel offered Patel more than $1.1 million in gambling credits and besieged him with temptations to gamble more, including having his personal host contact him up to 100 times a day.

“The complaint certainly does not claim that the addicted gambler is blameless, but the lawsuit seeks to apportion responsibility in a way that takes into account FanDuel’s very active involvement in his gambling addiction,” said Patel’s attorney, Matthew Litt .

The suit says that on several occasions when Patel had not yet placed a bet that day, his host called him to ask why not. Those communications began early in the morning and lasted late into the night, the lawsuit alleges.

New York-based FanDuel is said to have offered Patel gifts, including trips to the Super Bowl, the Masters golf tournament, car races and college basketball tournaments.

Patel pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud and other charges and agreed to repay the money stolen from the team.

His lawsuit closely resembles other legal actions brought in recent years by compulsive gamblers who have blamed casinos or online gambling companies for preying on their addictions.

In September 2008, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former New York attorney who argued that seven casinos had a legal obligation to prevent her from gambling when they knew she was addicted to them.

And in February, a lawsuit filed by the same attorney who represents Patel in the current one against FanDuel was dismissed after he argued that Atlantic City casinos had a legal obligation to stop compulsive gamblers.

Similar lawsuits have been dismissed in other states.