Christopher Evans’s lawsuit accusing DraftKings of fostering his gambling addiction has been transferred from Philadelphia state court to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The defendants filed their notice of removal on Sept. 16, moving a case Evans had brought in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on July 24.
Evans sued DraftKings Inc. and Crown PA Gaming Inc., alleging that the DraftKings app used personalised promotions, free bets, push notifications and VIP managers to keep him betting. He says the company’s tracking systems analysed and exploited his gambling patterns, rather than warning users showing signs of addiction or directing them to help.
The removal notice says Evans, a Philadelphia County resident, alleged more than $2.1 million in wagers and roughly $81,000 in net losses on the app. He alleges that gambling became an “unmanageable” addiction, involving casino games, sportsbook wagers and daily fantasy contests, and that it was accompanied by anxiety, depression, debt, declining work performance, vehicle repossession and separation from his wife.
The companies removed the action under federal diversity jurisdiction, asserting that no defendant is a Pennsylvania citizen and that the amount in dispute exceeds the $75,000 federal threshold. DraftKings is identified in the filing as a Nevada corporation with its principal place of business in Boston; Crown PA Gaming had converted to a Nevada limited-liability company whose sole member is a Delaware corporation based in Boston. All defendants consented to removal.
Evans’s claims include defective and negligent design, failure to warn, negligence, intentional misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. He seeks compensatory damages for gambling losses, addiction and related mental-health conditions.
The move follows the federal removal of Reynaldo Rivera’s separate addiction suit against DraftKings and FanDuel, as reported Sept. 16. The Evans case also arrives after a Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission study examined promotional offers, gambling debt, self-exclusion and possible regulation of advertising and VIP programmes under a legislative mandate issued in 2025.
