ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson spent 10 weeks mimicking the behaviour of a problem gambler while placing online sports bets, in an attempt to see how bookmakers would respond to reckless betting.
His experiment led DraftKings to make him a VIP, highlighting how sportsbooks responded to the pattern of gambling he had adopted.
Pearson discussed what happened during an appearance on The Takeout, describing the way his betting behaviour was designed to resemble that of someone struggling with gambling addiction.
The experiment focused on how online sports books respond when a customer displays increasingly reckless betting behaviour.
