Many DraftKings Employees Want to Move to Fanatics Laws & Regulations

Report Claims Many DraftKings Employees Want to Move to Fanatics

By Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 03 April 2024

Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

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It has been revealed that large numbers of employees from sports betting giant DraftKings have been attempting to jump ship to Fanatics since the Fanatics Sportsbook was launched.

This is according to a recent court filing that is part of an ongoing legal dispute between DraftKings and its former executive Michael Hermalyn. The legal action relates to claims that the former DraftKings executive has not only tried to poach employees but has also stolen valuable and sensitive data that could cause harm to DraftKings.

The filing was submitted to a federal court in Boston recently, and it claimed that a significant number of DraftKings employees—186 according to the data—have applied to move from DraftKings to Fanatics. The document was filed by legal representatives for Michael Hermalyn, who has been accused of corporate espionage by DraftKings.

DraftKings originally started legal action against Hermalyn back in February, with the lawsuit claiming that during his time as the Senior Vice President of VIP, he worked on plans to leave the company and join Fanatics.

The lawsuit also goes on to claim that Hermalyn left with confidential data relating to DraftKings’ VIP clientele, along with sensitive business strategies such as its Super Bowl game plan. This, according to the lawsuit, could cause a huge amount of harm to the business.

Enticing Employees from DraftKings

In addition to these claims, DraftKings has accused Hermalyn of actively enticing two of its employees to leave and join Fanatics after he himself moved to the company. The operator is seeking an injunction to stop their former executive from working for Fanatics based on contractual clauses he is said to have breached.

However, legal representatives of Hermalyn and Fanatics have denied these allegations in a motion that seeks dismissal of the injunction request. They accused DraftKings of distorting facts and also of character assassination of their client.

According to the filing, the flood of DraftKings employees expressing an interest in moving from DraftKings to Fanatics has nothing to do with Hermalyn. The legal team claims that it is an indication that many employees are not satisfied with the working environment at DraftKings, which they described as a ‘culture of retribution’. The lawyers also stated:

Trying to halt this trend, DK attempts to make an example out of Hermalyn, transparently to instill fear in other DK employees looking to jump ship and halt lawful recruiting activity by Fanatics.

The document goes on to deny DraftKings’ claims regarding Hermalyn’s alleged solicitation of employees, stating that it was the employees who made contact with Hermalyn shortly after his recruitment by Fanatics.

Response to Claims Over Trade Information Data Theft

Regarding the accusation of trade information theft, the filing highlighted DraftKings’ failure to provide proof of any tangible loss of clientele to Fanatics, which therefore challenges the claim of harm being inflicted on DraftKings as a result of Hermalyn’s actions.

In response to DraftKings’ claim that Hermalyn accessed documents via a ‘non-DK device,’ the motion claims that this allegation is unfounded. It states that the device in question was Hermalyn’s personal phone, which he used in accordance with his duties at DraftKings and was fully authorized to do so. The filing dismisses DraftKings’ characterization of this incident as ‘outrageous.’