DraftKings, FanDuel experience issues right before Super Bowl LV kickoff
Those who were trying to make last-minute bets were left furious
DraftKings and FanDuel had potential bettors pulling their hair about an hour before kickoff at Super Bowl LV.
Those interested in making a last-minute wager on the game were seeing an outage hit the sports gambling apps. Bettors reacted to the outage with disdain on social media.
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DraftKings said in a statement it was aware of the technical issues.
“We’re aware customers were unable to access our mobile and online Sportsbook. It appears this outage was caused by a surge in traffic that caused problems for our backend provider. Our DFS and pools products, supported by in-house technology, are functioning without issue. This incident is why we believe owning our own technology is important," DraftKings said in a statement to Fox Business.
FanDuel added in a tweet: “We are aware customers in MI and IL are having trouble logging in and placing wagers on the Sportsbook platform. Our team is working on resolving this issue as quickly as possible and we will provide any updates here. We apologize for any inconvenience!”
SUPER BOWL EXPECTED TO BREAK ONLINE GAMBLING RECORDS
A record 7.6 million Americans are expected to bet online when the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, according to the American Gambling Association.
More than 23 million Americans are expected to place bets on the final NFL game of the year, down 12% from last year, and $4.3 billion is expected to be wagered, which is down 38%, according to the AGA.
The 7.6 million Americans who will place their bets online represents a 63% increase from last year, which is largely due to the increased adoption of legal betting throughout the United States. 25 states and Washington, D.C. have now legalized sports gambling.
The Chiefs are currently slight favorites, with the line hovering around -3.5 in Kansas City's favor.
According to a Morning Consult survey conducted for AGA, 56% of Americans are placing their money on the Chiefs, while 46% are trusting their money with six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
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The sports gambling industry is becoming more lucrative as states continue to legalize operations, with consulting firm VIXIO estimating in a report this month that the industry could be worth $7.3 billion to $10 billion in total revenue by 2025.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.