Cantor Affiliate Files Lawsuit Against DraftKings and FanDuel Asserting Patent Infringement

(AsiaGameHub) –   Interactive Games LLC has launched a new legal battle against DraftKings and FanDuel, placing core mobile betting technology at the center of the case. The lawsuits target features every regulated operator relies on, while also bringing in a political angle because Howard Lutnick co-invented two of the patents before taking office as US Commerce Secretary.

Good to Know

• Interactive Games filed one lawsuit against DraftKings in Massachusetts and another against FanDuel and Betfair in New Jersey on April 2.
• The five patents cover mobile gambling systems linked to identity checks, geolocation, and app security.
• Reuters reported that Interactive Games had already sued DraftKings in an earlier patent case, pointing to a longer-running intellectual property strategy centered on the legacy Cantor Gaming portfolio.

Core Mobile Betting Technology Is Now Before The Courts

DraftKings and FanDuel are accustomed to fighting disputes with state regulators, navigating tax debates, and battling for market share. Now both companies face a different kind of pressure. Interactive Games LLC, affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, has sued them in federal court and alleges their platforms use protected mobile gambling technology without permission.

The patents do not cover auxiliary tools or fringe products. Interactive Games says they protect systems that verify a user’s identity, confirm where the user is located, and help stop tampering inside smartphone gambling apps. In the US market, these functions sit at the heart of legal mobile wagering. No licensed sportsbook or casino app can truly operate without identity verification and geolocation controls.

According to court filings, DraftKings products named in the case include its sportsbook, casino, fantasy sports, and other betting platforms. The complaint against FanDuel makes similar claims and also names parent company Betfair. As the cases develop, the discovery process will clarify which parts of the platforms Interactive Games believes cross the line into infringement.

A political thread also runs through the case. Two of the five patents were co-invented by Howard Lutnick when he was still leading Cantor Fitzgerald. Reuters reported that Lutnick later stepped down from his roles at Cantor Fitzgerald and Interactive Games and divested all his business interests after taking office. Even so, a lawsuit built around patents tied to a sitting Commerce Secretary gives the dispute an extra layer most patent cases do not have.

This detail matters for another reason. The US Patent and Trademark Office falls under the Commerce Department. Reuters noted that any patent review process involving inventions tied to Lutnick could raise unusual conflict of interest questions, even if he has no disclosed ongoing interest in the litigation itself.

Interactive Games is also no newcomer to this space. Reuters said the company filed an earlier patent case against DraftKings years ago, well before mobile sports betting reached its current widespread scale across the country. This history points to a longer effort to defend technology created during Cantor Gaming’s early days in Nevada.

For the industry, timing is a key part of the story. DraftKings and FanDuel still hold the largest positions in online sports betting across much of the US, so any patent case aimed at core mobile systems impacts the two names with the most at stake. Neither company had issued a public response to the new suits as of the filing date cited by Reuters.