DraftKings’ Responsible Gaming Chief on Gambling’s Reputation Problem

DraftKings’ responsible gaming chief Lori Kalani says the gambling industry is at an inflection point — much like social platforms a decade ago, when user privacy concerns bubbled to the surface.

Kalani, who represented Meta at a previous law practice, pointed to Facebook’s investment in building and marketing privacy tools to users. There was an adoption period when people started to take ownership of their online privacy.

Gamblers are similarly getting access to new tools for setting bet limits or tracking their betting behavior, and the industry needs to make sure people are using them.

“If somebody is getting online and playing with DraftKings, we need to make sure they know it’s good hygiene,” Kalani said. “It’s smart to have that limit set.”

Of course, Facebook’s privacy concerns didn’t evaporate with the introduction of new tools, and the gambling industry is also facing an uphill battle.

In April 2024, DraftKings hired Kalani, a former consumer protection lawyer, as its first responsible gaming chief, reporting to CEO Jason Robins. It’s her job to make sure the company gives customers the tools to bet responsibly, weave responsible gaming into the company culture, and lead conversations with regulators. As part of the C-suite, she said she’s involved in high-level decision-making, such as business strategy and M&A.

The C-suite appointment — DraftKings calls it an industry first — was also a message to the industry: We take responsible gaming seriously.

It’s a fraught moment for the gambling business.

A spate of high-profile sports betting scandals has drawn negative attention to the sector. Lawsuits against gambling companies, including DraftKings, have highlighted concerns over practices like promotions and loyalty programs. And regulators have scrambled to keep up with new, emerging, or, in some cases, illegal categories that look like gambling, such as prediction markets, sweepstakes, and crypto casinos.

These issues have fueled questions about consumer protections and gambling addiction and prompted some lawmakers to consider new guardrails.

“There’s sometimes — all good intention — but this knee-jerk reaction to do something and do something quickly,” Kalani said.

Amid all the noise, responsible gaming has become a key focus for a lot of gambling companies. Some have hired or elevated key execs and made it a focal point in their marketing and communications. Last year, several of the largest operators, including DraftKings, formed the independent trade group the Responsible Online Gaming Association. And startups building tools for the industry are attracting millions in funding.

Kalani said she thinks the industry has become a “bit of a target” — sometimes unfairly.

She pointed to negative coverage around the rise in outreach to the National Problem Gambling Helpline since the federal ban against sports betting was overturned in 2018. She said operators direct gamblers to this helpline, and that it’s a good thing people who need it are seeking help.

“What’s frustrating to me is how it’s not really healthy scrutiny with both sides of the story,” Kalani said. “I just don’t think that that’s helpful because what we’re trying to do in the RG space is reduce the stigma of people saying, ‘I don’t have a gambling problem.'”

Still, DraftKings is a public company with financial growth targets. It made $4.8 billion in revenue last year, and expects to cross $6 billion in 2025. Its gains are customers’ losses.

But Kalani doesn’t see that as a push-and-pull.

“I view it as entertainment, like going to Disney or going to a football game,” she said, adding: “It would not be in our best interest to have people come to DraftKings, have a terrible experience because they don’t understand the rules or the risks of the games, or they don’t limit themselves, and they lose all their money.”

Little words matter

In the last year, Kalani has helped DraftKings change the way it talks to gamblers about betting responsibly.

“Responsible gaming in a nutshell is playing for fun and entertainment and doing so responsibly,” she said

The company found that small changes to messaging can make a difference. For example, DraftKings used to suggest people set a limit. Now it suggests setting a budget.

Kalani said DraftKings can detect if somebody has been on the platform for hours in the middle of the night, and send a message that says: Hey, did you know you could set reminders, or you could take a break?

“We want to be talking to people, not just where they are in that moment, but we want to be talking to them in the way that they’re going to listen,” she said.

She said she’s shared learnings like these with other operators.

The company also promoted responsible gaming education in a recent national ad campaign, which plays on Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler.”

Looking ahead, she’s focused on improving DraftKings’ player data dashboard, My Stat Sheet. It shows bettors their individual data on deposits, wins, losses, time spent, and more. She said it’s the company’s “greatest tool” for helping players make informed decisions. Since the start of the NFL season last year, half of DraftKings players have visited the dashboard, and there have been 11 million visits. FanDuel also recently launched something similar.

Kalani wants to add more granular info to DraftKings’ dashboard, such as breakdowns of wins and losses by specific sports like NFL or MLB, and make it more personalized.

She also wants to do more research into communication within the app, including the best time to show a responsible gaming message and more tailored messages. To that end, she also wants to customize the messaging to different products, like online casino games.

For Kalani, who grew up in Las Vegas, responsible gaming is personal. She said both of her parents struggled with gambling addictions.

“I’m very aware of what this can do to people if they really shouldn’t be playing,” she said. “But I also grew up in Las Vegas, and all my friends, they played and they go to Vegas now. It’s just normal, fun entertainment. And so it feels full circle for me.”