FanDuel to pay Jaguars $5M after ex-Jacksonville employee’s betting funds theft: Source

FanDuel has agreed to pay the Jacksonville Jaguars about $5 million to cover a portion of the losses tied to a former Jaguars employee who stole around $20 million from the organization and deposited it into the sportsbook, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic on Friday.

The deal was finalized earlier this year, according to the source. It came after ex-financial manager Amit Patel admitted in December 2023 to embezzling more than $22 million from the Jaguars between 2019 and 2023, most of which he lost gambling. Patel, who is serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence for wire fraud and an illegal monetary transaction, stole money by creating fraudulent charges in Jacksonville’s virtual credit card system and covered his tracks by sending falsified files to the team’s accounting department.

With FanDuel being one of the NFL’s betting partners, the league encouraged the Jaguars and the sports betting company to reach a resolution, a source said.

The Jaguars declined to comment, and FanDuel did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

ESPN first reported the deal.

Patel filed a $250-million lawsuit against FanDuel in October 2024, accusing the company of taking advantage of his gambling addiction and ignoring its responsible gaming and anti-money laundering protocols.

The Jaguars filed their own lawsuit against Patel in July 2024, seeking $66.6 million in damages.

When Patel worked for Jacksonville, he oversaw the company’s monthly financial statements and department budgets and served as the administrator of its VCC program.

The Jaguars fired Patel in February 2023 after the NFL flagged his betting activity early that year.

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