A former Jacksonville Jaguars executive who stole money from his old employer to fund his gambling habits is settling a lawsuit against FanDuel outside of a courtroom.
Key Takeaways
- A federal judge reportedly granted FanDuel’s motion for arbitration.
- Amit Patel’s argument against the terms and conditions clause failed.
- The former Jacksonville financial executive is serving a six-year sentence in a federal prison.
Amit Patel sued the sports betting and daily fantasy sports operator for $250 million in 2024, claiming FanDuel used gifts and promotional credits to help fuel his gambling addiction, which led him to embezzle over $20 million from the Jaguars, for which he’s currently serving a more than six-year federal prison sentence.
The lawsuit is headed to arbitration and will be overseen by a U.S. district judge, Sportico reports, as U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick granted a FanDuel motion last week to privately resolve the dispute.
This will keep the case from going to trial and keep the details away from the public.
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Terms and conditions win
FanDuel argued in its February 2025 filing that Patel agreed to the operator’s terms and conditions when he bet and entered DFS contests, which states that legal disputes are handled through arbitration.
Patel accused FanDuel of using indefinite arbitration to cover matters unrelated to the agreement. Broderick sided with FanDuel and reporedly highlighted that clause in his decision to grant arbitration, ruling that “there was no mismatch” between the arbitration agreement and Patel’s arguments, according to Sportico.
FanDuel said in its memorandum from earlier this year that Patel was dreaming up “unsupported conspiracy theories” in prison and disputed that the operator should be sued at all.
Patel will now argue his claims to the arbitrator, and FanDuel can argue against those assertions.
Pleading guilty
While serving in a financial role for the Jaguars from 2018 to 2023, Patel stole $22 million by misappropriating funds through Jacksonville’s virtual credit card program. He spent millions of dollars entering DFS contests on FanDuel and DraftKings.
He also used the embezzled money to buy cryptocurrency used to fund sports betting accounts and to purchase cars, a condominium, jewelry, a country club membership, sports tickets, and trips for himself and friends, according to court documents.
Patel was charged with wire fraud and illegal money transactions in December 2023. He pleaded guilty that year and received a six-year, six-month sentence in March 2024.
Lawsuit details
In his lawsuit against FanDuel, Patel claims the company preyed on his gambling addiction and inflicted intentional and emotional distress. He also charged the operator with negligence, conspiracy, and deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Patel was added to FanDuel’s high-bettor VIP status, and he alleges that a host contacted him to ask why he wasn’t betting on days when he didn’t place wagers. Patel said FanDuel provided him $1.1 million in credits and tickets to major sporting events through its VIP program, which he claims fueled a gambling addiction diagnosed in 2023.
