How To Easily Delete Your DraftKings Account

Privacy concerns, financial instability, you lost the thrill, or you found out just how much sports betting can lower your credit score, it doesn't matter. Whatever the reason, you want to close your DraftKings account. Today. If you're thinking it'll be a hassle, know that it's not a difficult thing to do. You can do so via the DraftKings website (desktop or mobile) or the app.

Before you close your DraftKings account, however, be sure to withdraw your remaining account balance. Once the account closes, access to these funds may become a problem. Also, check for any active bets, as deleting your DraftKings account will effectively forfeit any potential winnings.

As for recurrent payment methods, you don't need to cancel them to avoid future charges. After deleting your account, all charges and/or subscriptions will discontinue, as your DraftKings account will no longer be active. (See how using autopay for your subscriptions could end up costing you.)

If you or anyone you know is struggling with problem gambling, help is available. The National Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-GAMBLER) is available 24 hours a day. The National Council on Problem Gambling offers call, text, and chat services for those in need.

As said, you can delete your DraftKings account either through the website (on desktop or mobile) or via the app. To close your DraftKings account from desktop:

• Log into your DraftKings account
• Click on your profile's photo
• Select Account Information
• Click Login & Security
• Find and click Close Account
• Fill out the closure form
• Click Continue
• Reenter your password
• Confirm "Yes, Close My Account"

To close your DraftKings account from the site on a mobile device, it's the same steps, only you'll need to click on the Home icon first, and you won't need to select "Account Information." On mobile, simply log in, click the Home icon, select your profile's photo, then Login & Security, then Close Account to fill out the closure form and confirm your request by reentering your password and tapping "Yes, Close My Account."

To close your DraftKings account via the app, it's again basically the same steps, only there's no Login & Security step. For the app:

• Log into your DraftKings account
• Click on your profile's photo
• Select Settings
• Select Close Account
• Fill out the closure form
• Reenter your password
• Confirm "Yes, Close My Account"

Note that the closure process finalizes within a few days, but the account remains in a temporarily closed state. Once this process completes, DraftKings will then direct its former customers to contact customer support to permanently close/delete the account.

The fact that you delete your DraftKings account doesn't mean DraftKings will erase your data immediately. Though DraftKings will refrain from using your personal information for any promo content, it'll hold on to your data in compliance with the law. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, sports betting operators, like financial institutions, must keep transaction records for a minimum of five years to prevent financial crimes during future investigations by law enforcement agencies.

Further, for tax purposes, the IRS mandates businesses to retain data within their system for a period that supports a tax audit. This means retaining records for at least three years from the date a taxpayer files their tax returns, or two years from the date they paid taxes, whichever is later. (Here's what actually happens when you get audited by the IRS.)

It's also important to note that some states have their own requirements. New Jersey and Nevada, for example, require licensees to maintain records of customer transactions, game outcomes, and other data for several years. New York, meanwhile, under the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD), and other states with similar laws, direct businesses to retain data to comply with data breach notification obligations — meaning retaining logs and records that are vital to identify and notify persons affected by a data breach.