DraftKings slot machine payout glitch in Connecticut

DraftKings and another gambling company were fined a total of $22,500 by the state of Connecticut for operating an online slot machine game that failed to pay any winners on more than 20,600 spins over one week in August 2023.

The game, Deal or No Deal Banker’s Bonanza, was advertised to pay out almost 95 cents for every dollar wagered on the game.

But from Aug. 15 through Aug. 21 last year, a total of 522 people in Connecticut who wagered nearly $24,000 on the game over more than 20,659 spins received no wins, according to a report by Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection.

“Effectively, it was impossible for any Connecticut patron to achieve a win on the game for a period of 7 days, while live on the gaming platform,” according to the report, which was first detailed by the CT Insider news outlet on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the DCP said, “It was the first incident [in the state] where an online slot machine was not paying out as advertised.”

The report found that neither DraftKings and the game’s producer, White Hat Gaming, notified Consumer Protection of the problem until the department requested information from the companies on Aug. 31 last year.

That was more than a week after customers complained about the situation, and after an internal investigation by White Hat Gaming determined the cause of the problem in paying out as advertised.

A file in the game’s software had not been loaded properly, according to the Consumer Protection probe. The game was relaunched on Aug. 22 after a fix was implemented.

Nearly a week earlier, on Aug. 16, a player told DraftKings in an online complaint that they had played “a couple hundred spins” of bets of 20 cents apiece, “and not had one single winning spin or partial win,” according to a summary of complaints reviewed in the probe.

“I believe that RTP is incorrect,” wrote the customer, using the gambling acronym “Return to Player.”

A DraftKings representative wrote the customer in response on Aug. 17, suggesting there was no problem.

“I understand how frustrating it can be when you haven’t hit a win,” the rep wrote. “However, all casino games are random, regardless of the player or length of time you’ve been playing.”

Another company rep, in response to a second customer’s complaint about many spins without seeing a payout, assured the player that the casino platform was regulated by the Consumer Protection Department and “are monitored on a regular basis to ensure fairness.”

The rep also told the player that there was an option to “self-regulate your play” but setting limits on wagers on the platform.

Another customer on Aug. 20 wrote DraftKings that he had played the game with more than 100 spins without a payout.

“I believe this is a problem as I have never played a slot game where I haven’t won a single cent in over 100 spins,” the player wrote.

In a response to that complaint, a DraftKings rep wrote, “I understand it can be…