5 Dumbest Things: DraftKings Customers Mock CEO 'Love of Competition', 32 Cent Daily Limits?

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.  And it exists in the world of gambling.  Here at Gambling911.com we refer to it as The 5 Dumbest Things.

5 Dumbest Things: DraftKings Customers Mock CEO 'Love of Competition' (July 13, 2023)

Synopsis:  DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made some folks cringe while others simply fell off their chairs when he declared how much his company loves competition. "As a leader in sports entertainment, @DraftKings welcomes competition. Competition forces everyone to keep up or get left behind. We prefer to be out in the lead. We’re natural competitors who always welcome the chance to improve our game. Competition only makes us stronger."  DraftKings customers are certainly glad the competition exists as they find themselves stuck with mostly useless wagering accounts.  Let's take a looksie. 

5th Dumbest Thing: DraftKings Apparently Bans a Lot of People

If competition only makes you stronger, why do you ban anyone who makes money on your app?

— (@Krabs_Bets) July 12, 2023

4th Dumbest Thing: Enticing Bonus Hunters Only to Tell Them to Get Lost

AdviceSeeker-123 on Reddit suggests that DraftKings is smart to rid a good chunk of their customer base.

"Limiting ppl making bank off arbing and only playing promos seems like a smart decision as a way to become profitable."

movieclockstar explained the concept.

"He means that people are only betting the promos and making offsetting bets in other books, so that no matter what they come out ahead. If you do this without promos, you'll just slowly bleed money because of the vig. But with a lot of these promos, it's essentially matched betting, or even a free bet, and thus guaranteed profit. Google "using promos and arbitrage betting" if you want to get a clearer idea about this, there's plenty of resources. But this does hurt the books, and presumably a fair amount of people are doing it so they've cut back hard on promos. I remember Caesar's used to give me free bets all the time, now they don't give me shit."

The problem with this argument is that DraftKings is the one offering these bonuses and it's only human nature to go places where one can find the best deals. 

This type of behavior is really no different than using coupons to go shopping.  The coupons lure you in, the store might not make as much of a profit, but the whole idea is that customers will keep spending their hard earned money at Store A and not Store B.  One out of five coupon shoppers is almost certain to purchase at least one item at full cost.  Imagine showing up at the register with a bunch of groceries only to be told you can only purchase the one full priced item because you show up in a store database for overuse of coupons or, worse, being told you can no longer shop in the store.

Smoke The Books believes Robins will one day have to answer to a higher power.  We won't go THAT far but, seriously, does anybody really believe he's running DraftKings for the good of Mankind? 

"When your day comes, you gonna look at Jesus and say you were in the entertainment business? You’re a money changer who bans anyone that is good at it or gets lucky. Stand by the lines you deal and stop advertising that you can make so much money because it’s a blatant lie."

When your day comes, you gonna look at Jesus and say you were in the entertainment business? You’re a money changer who bans anyone that is good at it or gets lucky. Stand by the lines you deal and stop advertising that you can make so much money because it’s a blatant lie.

— Smoke the Books (@SmokeTheBooks) July 12, 2023

3rd Dumbest Thing: Pushing Parlays and Assuming You Are Going to Get Quality Long Term Customers

Parlays are sucker bets and nearly all gamblers will end up losing in the long run despite the high they might get briefly from hitting one.

Do this experiment: Before betting with real money, come up with three picks daily for seven days, making sure to calculate the costs of high priced money lines.  That's 21 picks.  If you win all 21 picks, congrats, you're a genius.  Now go bet for real money at DraftKings wagering only parlays as you'll be getting great payout odds.

First off, DraftKings will boot you by Day 3.

Second off, you're NOT going to hit all 21 picks.  That's the point of the experiment.  You might end up doing really well and go 15-6.  For argument's sake, let's assume there is at least one loser six of those days and one nice sized parlay hits.  That nice sized winning parlay gets offset by the six losing parlays.  If you had placed $1000 straight wagers all week long assuming a line close to even and not counting the juice, you'd have profited somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000.

But, again, this is likely a moot point at DraftKings as you probably won't last one week there.

2nd Dumbest Thing: From $500,000 to $4.01 Maximum Limits

"DraftKings reserves the right to limit the maximum bet amount such that the net payout (the payout after the wager amount has been deducted) on any bet or combination of bets by one Authorized Account Holder does not exceed {$500,000}. This limit may be lowered by DraftKings in DraftKings' sole discretion."

Vince posted a screen shot of his bet on Joe Highsmith to win The Ascendant at +8000 odds.  Despite this bet almost certainly going DraftKings' way, Vince is still limited to just $4.01.  In this case, DraftKings is probably doing Vince a favor.

As A lEaDeR iN sPoRtS eNtErTaInMeNt, @DraftKings WeLcOmEs CoMpEtItIoN pic.twitter.com/jocxNJfCR4

— Vince (@tinderelladfs) July 11, 2023

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Most Dumbest Thing: The 32 Cent Daily Limit

"You like competition but I can only bet 32c per play."

You like competition but I can only bet 32c per play.

— china (@chinamaniac) July 12, 2023

Ed Blust tweeted:

"You are definitely the undisputed leader in limiting winning sports bettors. Congratulations!!!!"

Mike Durso:

"Competition for the quickest book to limit anyone who wins a few bets? Pathetic excuse for a Sportsbook but the app is second to none."

TaxMan writes:

"All part of the game. Imagine limiting a guy who is placing $100 dollar bets because he won $1,600 lmao."

ohMadness writes:

"You aren’t the leader though. I use every sportsbook available to me. This year, I’ve made 947 bets on FanDuel, and only 766 on DraftKings. FanDuel is the leader. Also due to your ridiculous limits, I’ve wagered over twice as much on FanDuel. $5 limits now is even worse. Poverty."

Starface tweeted:

"Limiting me to $5.36 on a line your “sportsbook” hangs doesn’t scream competitiveness to me….."

You aren’t the leader though. I use every sportsbook available to me. This year, I’ve made 947 bets on FanDuel, and only 766 on DraftKings. FanDuel is the leader. Also due to your ridiculous limits, I’ve wagered over twice as much on FanDuel. $5 limits now is even worse. Poverty.

— ohMadness (@ohMadnessYT) July 11, 2023

The 5 Dumbest: The Alabama Baseball Betting Scandal (July 12, 2023)

Synopsis: The Ohio Gaming Commission was provided a tip of "suspicious betting" coming in on a game between LSU and Alabama in college baseball.  The Commission ordered sportsbooks in the state to halt taking bets on any Alabama Crimson Tide baseball game.  It was later revealed as to why.  The Alabama head coach is alleged to have provided inside information to a Cincinnati man, who then attempted to place a rather large wager based on said info.

Let's now rank the least dumbest to the most dumb.

5th Dumbest Thing: Believing They Wouldn't Get Caught

Last year, Netflix released "Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul".  It details how an NBA ref nearly brought down the league.  Donaghy makes all types of claims as a way of explaining away his own behavior, which ultimately landed him in prison.

Donaghy was accused of lining the pockets of the notorious New York crime families and worldwide sports gambling underworld.

It's possible Bert Eugene Neff Jr., the man who attempted to place the suspicious wager, didn't watch the episode.  Perhaps Bama head coach Brad Bohannon didn't either.  Or they did and thought they could do a better job getting away with the scheme.  Well now...

4th Dumbest Thing: Placing the Suspicious Wager in Pete Rose's Home Town

If they didn't see "Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul", surely they're aware of Pete Rose's plight.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred insists that Rose violated the league's rule "never bet on baseball games". 

He reiterated the league's stance on Pete Rose this week:

"We’ve always approached the issue of gambling from the proposition that players and other people who are in a position to influence the outcome of the game are going to be subject to a different set of rules than everyone else in the world," Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Tuesday.

"Pete Rose violated what is sort of rule one in baseball, and the consequences of that are clear in the rule. And we’ve continued to abide by our own rules," Manfred added. "It’s just the rules are different for players. It’s part of the responsibility that comes with the privilege of being a major league player."

Rose was banned in 1989 for gambling on baseball as a manager and player with the Cincinnati Reds after the accusations surfaced.

Neff Jr. tried to place the bet - where else? - the BetMGM Sportsbook in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You gotta figure folks in Cincy, especially those working in the sports and betting business, continue to hold a grudge against the MLB for how their beloved baseball hero continues to be mistreated.  He deserves a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame, period.

Not that they are vindictive or anything like that but we here at Gambling911.com believe the great people of Cincinnati more than anybody else want to find a way to punish Major League Baseball, a league that now embraces sports betting.

News of this gambling scandal has caused serious harm to college baseball.  Imagine the devastation if this was an MLB game.

3rd Dumbest Thing: Make Sure Your Bet Far Exceeds the Set Limits

When Neff Jr. attempted to place his $100,000 bet, staff quickly realized that nobody even wagers on college baseball - at least nobody had yet on this day, and certainly not the Alabama-LSU game in Cincinnati.

Not to mention the betting limits on college baseball were in the area of the low thousands.

Oh, and he had a bag of cash.

2nd Dumbest Thing: Communicate Via an Encrypted App While Standing Under a Surveillance Camera

While attempting to place his $100,000 wager, Neff Jr. apparently stood under a video surveillance camera while texting back and forth with Bohannon using the encryption app Signal.  The Alabama coach allegedly provided information about a key player being scratched. 

And, yes, the camera reportedly captured the entire chat log. DOH!

Most Dumbest Thing: Tell the Bet Takers You Have Inside Information

As misguided as all of the above might seem, letting the sportsbook in on your plan is akin to calling the police to advise you are about to rob a bank.

Neff Jr. is alleged to have done just that when staff questioned why he was attempting to place a $100,000 wager on a sports with such low limits that hardly anyone bets on.

"Well," and we are paraphrasing as Gambling911 doesn't know the exact words that were said.  "I have insider information and I know this bet is going to win."

Somewhere a village is looking for its idiot.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com