The National Football League (NFL) entered April without a single official sportsbook partner for the first time since 2021, as its trio of existing deals with Fanuel, Draftkings, and Caesars each expired at midnight on March 31 without renewal. The lapse coincides with a period when the league is facing scrutiny over in-game betting practices.
Genius Sports Data Pricing Dispute Stalls Negotiations as Public Health Advocates Sue League Over In-Game BettingThe league told SBJ it remains open to “various league partnership structures,” a signal that could include an exclusive arrangement with a single operator rather than the three-partner model used since 2021. With Fanduel and Draftkings controlling roughly two-thirds of the U.S. sportsbook market, alternatives capable of replacing their spending are limited.
The complaint alleges the companies developed and distributed online sports betting platforms engineered to be addictive, specifically targeting microbetting. These are rapid in-game wagers on individual plays like whether the next play will be a pass or a run, if a third-down conversion attempt will succeed, or the outcome of the next drive – wagers that settle within seconds. The product is powered by the same Genius Sports data pipeline at the center of the partnership pricing dispute.
The suit was brought on behalf of two Pennsylvania residents who claim they developed severe gambling addictions, and draws explicit parallels to tobacco industry litigation. It alleges Draftkings and Fanduel used AI-driven push notifications and personal VIP hosts to escalate betting behavior, even after one plaintiff indicated he wanted to stop. “Following in the footsteps of the tobacco industry, the online sports gambling industry has developed a highly addictive, difficult-to-resist product that bombards consumers with dozens of betting opportunities every minute of the day,” PHAI Litigation Director Andrew Rainer said in a statement.
FAQ Why did the NFL’s sportsbook deals expire? Negotiations with Fanduel and Draftkings stalled over a price increase for official game data distributed through Genius Sports, while Caesars was not expected to renew regardless. How much were the NFL’s sportsbook partnerships worth? The three five-year deals with Fanduel, Draftkings, and Caesars, first signed in April 2021, were worth collectively close to $1 billion. Who is suing the NFL over sports betting? The Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University filed a product liability lawsuit in Philadelphia, naming the NFL, Draftkings, Fanduel, and Genius Sports as defendants over allegedly addictive microbetting products. How much money was wagered on U.S. sports betting in 2025? Americans legally wagered $166.94 billion on sports in 2025, generating a record $16.96 billion in revenue, according to the American Gaming Association.
