A blind man from New York is taking DraftKings to court, claiming the sports betting giant’s website shuts out people with vision disabilities. Anthony Benson filed the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on September 24. He says he uses screen-reading software to navigate the internet, but ran into repeated problems when he tried to
A blind man from New York is taking DraftKings to court, claiming the sports betting giant’s website shuts out people with vision disabilities.
Anthony Benson filed the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on September 24. He says he uses screen-reading software to navigate the internet, but ran into repeated problems when he tried to join fantasy football contests on DraftKings in July and August.
The complaint lists several barriers: forms without labels, broken links, graphics missing alternative text, and pop-ups that screen readers couldn’t process. Benson says these flaws made the site impossible to use and denied him the same access given to sighted players.
Anthony Benson is asking the judge to treat the case as a class action, representing other blind users who faced the same difficulties. The suit argues that DraftKings violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with New York City and State civil rights laws.
Moreover, it also says the company ignored widely accepted accessibility standards meant to make online platforms usable for people with disabilities. Benson still wants to take part in NFL fantasy games and promotions, but says he won’t return until the site is fixed.