High hopes
A DraftKings customer went viral over the weekend on social media after claiming that the operator allegedly took nearly $100,000 that he was owed from Pick6 contests. Pick6 is a pick’em-style fantasy sports product in which the bettor chooses between two and six players, deciding whether each one will go over or under for a specific stat.
The entry fee goes into a prize pool for that contest and the reward depends on how many of your picks are correct. There are guaranteed minimum multipliers, so you get a big boost if all six of your picks are correct.
X user ChimmyBimmy explained on Saturday that DraftKings paid out $18,500 in winning Pick6 wagers the previous night for NBA and NHL games. He also had another $80,000 worth of pending bets.
rescinded the payout and cancelled the withdrawal
DraftKings froze the customer’s account after he withdrew some of the $18,500, then rescinded the payout and cancelled the withdrawal. The account block was then lifted without any explanation from the operator.
The user then realized that his nine pending betting slips were deleted. He said he hasn’t received any communication from DraftKings regarding the matter:
Not an isolated issue
Other X users explained that they had similar issues. One person remarked that DraftKings Pick6 initially marked a betting slip as a win for a $30,000 payout before cancelling the transaction and zeroing the balance:
Another individual received a response from the DraftKings customer support team regarding the issue before it issued a widespread clarification. The message explains that some stats were incorrect, which is why the team is now reviewing the Pick6 payouts. It said it will credit the Pick6 accounts when this is completed:
Clarifying the issue
DraftKings has now issued an official explanation for what happened. It stated that a technical issue on Friday caused some picks to remain available for selection even after they became ineligible. The operator has now adjusted any payouts that were impacted, and all valid picks have now been paid in full:
A similar issue recently occurred in Massachusetts. A bettor exploited an internal technical error at DraftKings that allowed them to place over two dozen multi-leg MLB parlays involving selections on the exact same player’s “to hit” markets. This resulted in them winning $934,137 from $12,900 in total wagers.
DraftKings argued that the bets weren’t valid as the outcome took advantage of a clear error. However, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 5-0 last month in favor of the bettor, putting DraftKings on the hook for the $934,137 win.
