Lawyers for DraftKings and FanDuel filed a motion July 7 in federal court seeking to keep a lawsuit from the City of Baltimore out of state court.
Jurisdiction for the case would determine how it unfolds. The sportsbooks want a federal court to handle—and dismiss—the case. Meanwhile, Baltimore wants the lawsuit to play out in state court in Maryland.
In early June, lawyers for the city filed a motion to “remand” the case to state court.
The stakes are high for the litigation, which was filed in April 2025 in Baltimore City Circuit Court. The following month, DraftKings and FanDuel successfully had the case moved to federal court.
Lawyers for the sportsbooks wrote in the most recent court filing that the litigation “is a standard consumer protection dispute that falls well within the federal judiciary’s traditional authority to adjudicate cases involving citizens of different states.”
DraftKings and FanDuel referred to themselves as “out-of-state” companies.
“The City’s Complaint proceeds under a single consumer protection claim that federal courts in Maryland regularly hear and decide under analogous circumstances,” their lawyers wrote.
“While Defendants vigorously dispute the factual allegations in the complaint, the City’s claim presents a straightforward dispute—relating to advertising and trade practices—of precisely the type frequently litigated in federal court.”
Baltimore’s Consumer Protection Law
The City of Baltimore accused the sportsbooks of engaging in deceptive and unfair practices by targeting and exploiting vulnerable gamblers in violation of the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance (CPO).
Lawyers for DraftKings and FanDuel emphasized the CPO’s date to their potential advantage in the July 7 court filing.
“The City enacted the CPO in 2023, more than two years after sports betting was legalized—with overwhelming support by Maryland voters and nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the General Assembly—and almost a year after sports betting launched throughout Maryland.”
Remarkably, lawyers for the sportsbooks did not mention that each operator spent $2.25 million to convince Maryland voters to approve sports betting, according to figures from Ballotpedia.
Despite not a single dollar spent by any group to oppose the referendum, per Ballotpedia, 33% of Maryland voters said “no” to sports gambling legalization.
According to recent betting addiction statistics, more than half of online sports bettors have chased losses.
More Legal Wrangling
According to DraftKings and FanDuel, enforcing Baltimore’s CPO across Maryland would violate the Maryland Constitution.
Furthermore, the sportsbooks argued that federal court is the correct venue for the case because Baltimore’s lawsuit, purportedly, doesn’t involve state gambling regulations.
“The City does not challenge the validity, sufficiency, or administration of any agency decision, of Maryland’s sports betting regulations, or the actions of any regulators,” the gambling lawyers wrote.
“There is no contention that the regulatory framework itself is flawed or requires judicial intervention. Nor is there any prior or concurrent enforcement action by Maryland regulators concerning any of the conduct at issue in this case. As such, the City’s claim does not present a situation where federal adjudication would interfere with state policymaking or administrative review.”
They concluded that “federal courts are fully capable of deciding […] whether conduct violates consumer protection laws, even when it touches on a regulated industry.”
DraftKings and FanDuel warned that “a win by the City will result in different standards that will apply in one part of the state (Baltimore) than in the remainder of the state.”
What’s Next
Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, will determine whether the case should be federal or local.
It’s unclear when her decision will be made.
Baltimore is seeking the following through the litigation:
- The maximum statutory penalties for each violation of Baltimore’s CPO
- Injunctive relief mandating that DraftKings and FanDuel cease targeting and exploiting disordered gamblers
- Injunctive relief requiring defendants to reform their platforms
- Other relief available and appropriate under the law or in equity
The case marks a substantial threat to DraftKings and FanDuel’s businesses in Maryland and potentially beyond. The platforms are the two dominant players in the U.S. sports betting market.
Related: MD Passes Law For Gambling Education In Youth Suicide Prevention
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