DraftKings and White Hat Gaming must pay a total of $22,500 in fines to the state of Connecticut after its online slot machine failed to produce winnings for a week. reported that the state’s Department of Consumer Protection found a non-paying slot machine and issued fines.
The sports betting and gambling website was fined $19,000 and White Hat Gaming was fined $3,500. The website promised its players that Dial or No Deal Banker’s Bonanza an online slot machine would pay 95 cents for every dollar it took in from players. However, a report by the Department of Consumer Protection found that the slot machine did not pay a red cent from August 15-21 last year. A total of 522 players deposited nearly $24,000 into the machine over 20,569 spins when the machine refused to pay out any winnings.
An improperly uploaded file caused the machine to freeze and refuse to allow players to win the advertised amount. Once the faulty file was found and identified as the cause of the problem, DraftKings and White Hat Gaming restarted the game on August 22, 2023.
The report also found that DraftKings and White Hat Gaming did not disclose the faulty machine to federal officials until the Department of Consumer Protection requested the information last year. One player told the gaming website that they played “several hundred spins” at 20 cents per spin and the machine did not pay “a single winning spin or a partial win,” according to the report. DraftKings officials responded to several complaints with messages like “I understand it can be frustrating to have a cold streak, but I can assure you there is nothing wrong with the game itself.”
The slot machine continued to withhold its winnings for another week until White Hat Gaming identified the problem and fixed the software a second time. White Hat also says in the state report that all customers received refunds “without notice from DraftKings,” according to the report.
A spokesperson for the Department of Consumer Protection also said NBC News that White Hat Gaming “responded promptly” to the investigators’ questions. However, DraftKings’ response was “unsatisfactory” hence the higher penalty.
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