DraftKings Sends Mass Email, Raises Cybersecurity Concerns

An unexpected “Dead Heat Reduction” email sent by DraftKings raised concerns among customers of the popular betting and gaming operator earlier this week. Many customers thought that their account may be hacked as the email contained information about golf bets that were settled under the Dead Heat Reduction rules.

This was the case considering that the email was received by DraftKings customers who have not placed such wagers. Media reports suggest that the email was even sent to markets like Australia where DraftKings no longer operates and what’s more, unsuspected individuals who didn’t even have an account with the sportsbook have also reportedly received the email communication.

As a result, existing customers thought they or the company may have been a victim of a cyberattack. Others thought that they were targeted by a phishing attack, considering that the email contained a link.

The email sent by DraftKings contained the following text: “We are writing in regards to the bet(s) you placed on this past weekend’s golf tournament(s). Since two or more golfers tied for the same winning position, your bet(s) was settled using Dead Heat Reduction rules.”

Moreover, the company explained: “A “Dead Heat Reduction” is calculated by dividing the odds proportionally among the number of winners for a particular position (i.e. finishing place) in the event.” DraftKings included information on how the payout is calculated along with further details.

Email Was Sent More Broadly than Intended

The email also contained a link that led to the help section related to information on Dead Heat Reduction on the operator’s official website. According to Infoquu, the email was not a scam considering that the domains used to send it belong to DraftKings.

The media outlet reached out to DraftKings with a query regarding the mass email. They received a response from a Senior Player Advocate named Michael, who wrote: “You 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.”

So far nothing suggests that DraftKings was subject to a cyberattack. Considering the response of the representative of the sportsbook, the mass email campaign was nothing more than a mistake.

Yet, this mistake caused a temporary crash of the operator’s website and app. After receiving the email around 10 PM on Tuesday, many DraftKings customers rushed to access their accounts through the app or the operator’s website.

This resulted in a temporary crash of DraftKings’ services for several minutes, data from DownDetector.com reveals. In essence, the access attempts of a significant number of customers simultaneously had a similar impact a DDoS attack would’ve had. Luckily, this was not the case.