DraftKings users reported outages after the business inadvertently sent out a “Dead Heat Reduction” golf bonus bet email today (14 August).
DraftKings users reported outages after the operator inadvertently sent out a “Dead Heat Reduction” golf bonus bet email today (14 August).
Users across social media reported outages at the US sports betting site, with the email appearing to have led to unexpectedly high traffic.
Online website outage tracker Downdetector showed that 1,885 individuals reported the site as offline at approximately 10:30pm ET.
The operator’s DraftKings Sportsbook X profile posted a statement confirming it accidentally sent the email to far more users than it meant to.
The post said: “You may have received an email regarding this past weekend’s golf tournament and the ‘Dead Heat’ rule that was inadvertently sent more broadly than intended. Please disregard that email.”
The email related to a golf tournament in which two or more golfers tied for the same winning position.
According to the operator’s Dead Heat Reduction rules, bet winnings were calculated by dividing the odds proportionally among the number of winners for a particular position.
Since in this case the calculation resulted in a pay-out worth less than the original wager, DraftKings issued a one-time bonus bet at the value of the original bet at a courtesy.
While it is unknown which, if any, golf tournament the email originally referred to, the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition concluded on Saturday (10 August).
DraftKings customers express confusion online
Customers took to X to express confusion at receiving the email despite not having placed any bets on golf.
While many were concerned DraftKings had been hacked and the email represented some kind of scam, it appears it was sent in error by an admin.
Some users said they had received the email despite never having even opened a DraftKings account in the past.
The incident adds to a busy news day for DraftKings, which was in the headlines for u-turning on its planned customer surcharge in high-tax states.
The company appears to have cancelled the policy following investor unease and none of its competitors stating they would implement a similar policy.