Massachusetts Is Investigating Gambling Companies’ Use of A.I.

Massachusetts’s gambling regulator said on Thursday that it would examine how DraftKings and other betting companies that operated in the state used artificial intelligence. The inquiry follows a New York Times investigation that showed how DraftKings has deployed the technology to target losing gamblers with promotions that encouraged more betting.

Jordan Maynard, the chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which licenses and sets rules for gambling operators in the state, said during a public meeting that he had instructed the commission to “engage with” DraftKings about what The Times reported, and to learn more about how all licensed betting companies in Massachusetts were using A.I.

“These A.I. technologies are evolving rapidly across our society, and we share the concern over their application,” Mr. Maynard said during the meeting. Another commissioner, Paul Brodeur, described The Times’s findings as “troubling” and said the commission needed to “find out what the facts are on the ground.”

The Times reported that DraftKings had used machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to analyze customer betting records and identify those most likely to continue gambling — and losing — when sent promotional offers. Six former employees who built those systems told The Times that they worried the technology would harm people struggling with addiction. The company has also sidelined efforts to use similar technology to predict which gamblers may need an intervention based on their betting activity, The Times found.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/business/massachusetts-draftkings-ai-gambling.html