DraftKings fined over online slot bug that meant the game failed to pay out
Operator hit with $19,000 penalty in Connecticut for technical glitch that resulted in nearly $24,000 being refunded to players
DraftKings has been hit with a $19,000 fine in Connecticut after a slot title from White Hat Gaming hosted on the operator’s site failed to produce a win.
The penalty was handed out by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s (DCP) Gaming Division after a glitch impacted the slot game, meaning its return to player (RTP) rate sat at 0%.
A report from CT Insider outlined how in one week last year, 522 users played more than 20,000 spins without a single win being produced, per records produced by the Gaming Division.
The game’s advertised average payout was nearly 95 cents on the dollar, or 95% RTP, yet the odds had been effectively rendered to zero by mistake.
DCP regulators soon opened an investigation into the situation, which unearthed the glitch.
Once the malfunction was identified, DraftKings returned $23,909 to all players in Connecticut who had wagered on the game, but neglected to inform customers why they had received the refund.
The game’s supplier White Hat Gaming was also implicated and on the receiving end of a $3,500 fine for its part in the glitch.
The investigation found that neither DraftKings nor White Hat Gaming had notified the DCP of the issue until 31 August, by which time more than a week had passed since the error had been rectified and the game relaunched.
It was only when investigators contacted the two parties concerning player complaints that both DraftKings and White Hat Gaming offered an explanation.
As per CT Insider, DraftKings reached out to White Hat Gaming on 17 August 2023, to ask the firm to investigate complaints made about the game, before it was pulled from the platform two days later.
In the 12 months that followed, DraftKings confirmed it has not detected any further problems regarding the online slot game.
A spokesperson for DraftKings said the glitch had only impacted the game’s launch in Connecticut, which stemmed from a mistake made by the game’s supplier.
After being approached by EGR for comment, a statement from the Boston-based operator read: “Our customers’ satisfaction and the integrity of our products are central to our success. 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. The issue in Connecticut arose from an error on the game developer’s side.
“We identified a possible issue within 48 hours of launch and immediately escalated it for investigation.
“All impacted customers were fully refunded within days of concluding there was an issue, and we have not encountered any similar issues with this vendor.”
Kaitlyn Krasselt, a DCP spokeswoman, told CT Insider: “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.”
A White Hat Gaming spokesperson said: “Delivering a fun, fair and transparent gaming experience is a top priority at White Hat Studios.
“Regarding the technical fault concerning one of our games live with DraftKings in Connecticut in 2023, we took immediate action as soon as we became aware of the situation.
“It was a one-off incident and all affected players were fully refunded by DraftKings. We take player protection very seriously and worked closely with the regulator and DraftKings to resolve the issue.”