DraftKings Files Suit Against City of Philadelphia
Jesse M. Cox Published 28/07/2026
Online sports betting site DraftKings has filed suit against the City of Philadelphia to prevent the city from enforcing a consumer protection ordinance and a subpoena that was filed earlier in the year. The DraftKings action challenges the validity and enforceability of the Philadelphia Consumer Protection Ordinance, which the City enacted in 2024 to create a municipal consumer-protection enforcement regime.
This policy is separate from the statewide framework established by the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Lawyers representing DraftKings are arguing that the municipal law conflicts with and is preempted by the state ordinance and is unenforceable as applied to DraftKings' licensed gaming activities.
DraftKings claims conflicts abound in new Philadelphia ordinance
This DraftKings lawsuit is remarkably similar to the argument prediction markets make about the inability of state laws to supersede federal regulations. Lawyers representing DraftKings are pointing out that there already is a state ordinance in place that oversees consumer protection. That would be Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL).
For that reason, the DraftKings attorneys argue that the Philadelphia Consumer Protection Ordinance (PCPO) is neither valid nor enforceable.
Filing of the suit was taking place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In court documents, DraftKings is arguing that this new ordinance "exceeds the City’s authority under the First Class City Home Rule Act, and is independently preempted and unenforceable as applied to DraftKings' licensed gaming activities under the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act."
Lawyers for DraftKings further argue that "the PCPO is preempted by and conflicts with the UTPCPL because it copies the UTPCPL’s core prohibition on—and nearly all of its enumerated standards for—unfair or deceptive practices, while supplementing and altering the General Assembly’s statewide enforcement regime with a municipal enforcement regime administered by the City Law Department."
Philadelphia's mayor introduced the new consumer protection ordinance in 2024
It was Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker who signed the PCPO into law in June 2024. The design of the ordinance is to go after businesses that are using deceptive business practices. Court documents claim of Parker that she was indicating the PCPO “specifically targets deceptive business practices including misleading financing plans, false advertising of product conditions, and other activities which are deemed illegal under existing Pennsylvania consumer protection laws,” but deemed it necessary because of the “absence of a specialized local mechanism within the mayor’s chain of command.”
The City later amended the PCPO to apply retroactively to conduct that would also constitute a violation of the UTPCPL. The ordinance also noted that if the City finds violations, it can take repeat offenders to court. It would also be able to seek civil fines along with financial relief for consumers.
On April 24, 2026, the City of Philadelphia Law Department issued a subpoena to DraftKings. It was aiming to gather information relating to DraftKings' business practices, including its VIP program and problem gambling procedures.
DraftKings seeks to quash the subpoena
The DraftKings complaint is seeking to put a halt to the subpoena. Simply put, they believe that the City is overstepping its boundaries.
"The city has acted beyond the scope of its authority on matters governed by state law and regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board," a DraftKings spokesperson told Reuters. "DraftKings remains committed to operating responsibly and in full compliance with Pennsylvania law. We look forward to addressing this issue through the legal process.”
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