DraftKings and White Hat Gaming were fined a total of $22,500 by the state of Connecticut after their online slot machine failed to pay out winnings for a week, as reported by NBC News. The Department of Consumer Protection discovered the non-paying slot machine and imposed fines on DraftKings for $19,000 and White Hat Gaming for $3,500. Despite promising players that their slot machine would pay out 95 cents for every dollar wagered, the machine did not issue any winnings from August 15-21 of the previous year, with over 20,000 spins and $24,000 spent by 522 players during that time. A glitch caused by an improperly loaded file was identified as the reason for the malfunction, which was fixed and the game relaunched on August 22, 2023. DraftKings and White Hat Gaming did not disclose the issue to state officials until prompted by the Consumer Protections department, and some players reported never receiving any winnings despite multiple spins. The machine continued to malfunction until White Hat Gaming resolved the issue a second time, providing refunds to all affected customers without informing DraftKings. While White Hat Gaming responded promptly to inquiries, DraftKings’ response was deemed unsatisfactory, resulting in a higher fine.
