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An investigation by Connecticut gambling regulators found that a computer glitch affecting a DraftKings slot game launch in August 2023 had rendered it incapable of generating a win, despite advertising average payouts of nearly 95 cents on the dollar.
The odds were instead set to zero. 20,000 spins and there were zero wins.
After discovering the glitch, DraftKings returned $23,909 to all of the players in Connecticut who had placed bets on the game, without notifying them of the reason, according to a report included within the state’s investigation.
While mostly known in the US for it sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) products, DraftKings offers many popular casino games and titles including blackjack, roulette, Mad Yeti Keno, Loki's Luck, and the uber popular online slot game, Tome of Madness.
To date, DraftKings has been fined $19,000. Its casino software provider, White Hat Gaming, got slapped with a meager $3,500 fine.
A further investigation found that neither DraftKings nor White Hat Gaming notified regulators of the software glitch.
A spokesperson for DraftKings claims the glitch was confined to the game's launch in Connecticut and resulted from an error by the game's developer. The issue was first surfaced within 48 hours of the game's release, prompting an internal investigation, they said.There have not been any subsequent issues involving White Hat Gaming's online games.
“Our customers’ satisfaction and the integrity of our products are central to our success," the company said in a statement. "We have robust measures to monitor potential payout issues, and we investigate any concerns promptly. In the event of a game not functioning as intended, we ensure impacted customers are appropriately refunded."
Just for some comparison, the typical online slot game will see a hit, on average, 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 times, typically providing small payouts.
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