The Louisiana Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to give DraftKings a conditional four-month extension of its sports betting licence, keeping the company authorised through February 19 while regulators investigate AI-related allegations and a shareholder suitability issue.
The full renewal hearing is set for February 18, one day before the extension ends. DraftKings’ current licence expires on November 10, and the board said its decision is not a finding that the company broke any rules.
Why regulators have held back full renewal
Assistant Attorney General Delancey Houston told the board that the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division had found information indicating certain shareholders with at least 5% of DraftKings had not completed suitability submissions. One shareholder has asked to be treated as an institutional investor; regulators have not yet determined whether that classification applies.
Houston said the investigation remained incomplete and that the division also needed time to examine recent allegations about DraftKings. Board members questioned Paul Liberman, the company’s president of operations and co-founder, and Lori Kalani, its chief responsible gaming officer, about reports that AI was used to target losing bettors and about the treatment of customers who may show signs of gambling problems.
The hearing reflects wider regulatory attention on sportsbook AI and customer safeguards, including scrutiny of AI-driven promotions. In Louisiana, however, the board’s inquiry remains focused on DraftKings and has not established that the reported conduct occurred.
Board chairman Chris Hebert said news reports do not themselves establish regulatory violations, but regulators must examine matters that could affect gaming integrity. He described the conditional approval as an oversight measure that gives the company an opportunity to respond.
DraftKings disputes the AI allegation
Liberman told the board DraftKings can use customer financial records to determine whether bettors are winning or losing, but said the company does not use AI to target losing gamblers. That is the company’s position, not a conclusion reached by Louisiana regulators.
Hebert said: “This proposal is not a determination that DraftKings has engaged in any wrongdoing. Rather it is a measured regulatory response that allows us as a Board to fulfill our oversight responsibility.”
Kalani described a separate use of AI in the company’s responsible-gambling work. She said multiple triggers can lead to intervention, and that a customer’s disclosure of distress or financial difficulty to customer service is automatically flagged for review.
“We can’t diagnose when someone has a compulsive gambling problem. We’re not physicians, we’re not clinicians and that’s not our role, but we certainly want to help people enjoy the service, the platform that we’re offering them,” Kalani said.
Kalani said DraftKings closes accounts when customers do not follow responsible-gambling advice. The company closed 175 Louisiana accounts in the year discussed, she said, a figure trending towards roughly the same level as in 2025; those closures were separate from customers who shut accounts themselves, self-excluded or entered a cool-off period.
She also said DraftKings does not send promotions for two weeks after a cool-off period or for 30 days after self-exclusion. These account practices and figures were presented by a company executive, not independently verified findings by the board.
Conditions set deadlines before February hearing
The conditional approval has seven conditions. Within 30 days, DraftKings must provide required shareholder suitability submissions or petitions seeking institutional-investor treatment, and submit formal responses on AI use, prediction-market activity, digital offerings to Louisiana residents and other information requested by regulators.
The company also has 30 days to review and certify that its marketing materials, commercials and digital advertisements comply with responsible-gambling requirements. It must designate a senior representative to handle communications with the board within seven days, cooperate with its directives and provide requested information while operating under the conditional renewal.
Before the February 18 hearing, the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division must complete its investigation, and regulators will have to assess the shareholder issue alongside DraftKings’ written responses. The board’s decision preserves the company’s conditional authorisation through February 19; the scheduled hearing is the next formal point for the full renewal decision.
The post DraftKings gets conditional Louisiana licence extension through Feb 19 appeared first on CasinoBeats.
DraftKings licence extension in Louisiana runs through February 19 as regulators investigate shareholder suitability and AI-related allegations.
The post DraftKings gets conditional Louisiana licence extension through Feb 19 appeared first on CasinoBeats.