DraftKings Connecticut Fined for Operating Zero-Odds Online Slot Machine

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Gaming Division (DCP) fined DraftKings $19,000 for operating an unwinnable online slot machine game. 

An investigation revealed that during one week in August 2023, 522 customers placed close to $24,000 in combined wagers on the slot game. None of the bettors won any prizes.

The probe also revealed that DraftKings discovered a “technical glitch” that set the odds of winning any money to zero.

A faulty program

The slot game in question advertised average payouts of roughly 95 cents per dollar wagered—tilted in the house’s favor, but not to the degree that there shouldn’t have been any wins.

DraftKings refunded the full $23,909 in wagers to customers once it discovered the glitch. However, it did not attach a note explaining why the refund occurred, and it did not report the incident to the DCP until three days after it discovered the glitch.

According to local reports, several customers submitted complaints to no avail. 

One of those players was James C., who told Connecticut Insider  he “knew something was wrong right away.” 

One player took 50 cracks at the slot and, after not winning a single time, informed customer service of the issue. They were then locked out of their account and referred to problem gambling resources.

The DCP did not receive a proper explanation as to what happened until it connected DraftKings and White Hat Gaming, the game’s developer.

“This is a great example of something that, if we were not there to intervene, they would not have taken it seriously until our investigators got involved,” said Kaitlyn Krasselt, a DCP spokesperson. 

DraftKings too lackadaisical? 

The DCP ultimately fined DraftKings $19,000 and White Hat Gaming $3,500.

DraftKings defended its handling of the situation, saying it ensured that all affected customers were given their money back and that it handled the situation by the book. 

“In the event of a game not functioning as intended we ensure impacted customers are appropriately refunded,” a statement from DraftKings sent to EGR read. “The issue in Connecticut arose from an error on the game developer’s side.

“We identified a possible issue within 248 hours of launch and immediately escalated it for investigation. All impacted customers were fully refunded within days of conclusion there was an issue, and we have not encountered any similar issues with this vendor.”

DCP Gaming Division director Kristofer Gilman said that while White Hat Gaming responded openly when questioned, DraftKings held back more details. 

DraftKings’ online casino is available in five states: Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It occupies the second-largest online sports betting and online casino gaming market share and is only three percent behind industry leader FanDuel (32 to 35 percent).