DraftKings’ 9-11 Themed Promotion Withdrawn After Criticism

Article ByDavid Weir

September 12, 2023

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, Massachusetts Gambling News, New York Gambling News, US Gambling News

DraftKings, one of the biggest U.S. sports betting operators, has been facing criticism for launching a promotional parlay bet linked to the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Boston-based firm’s promo encouraged users to place a parlay bet on three New York based sports teams playing on or the day after the 22^nd anniversary of the tragedy in which 2,996 people died.

DraftKings’ promotion asked bettors to wager on the MLB’s New York Mets and Yankees and the NFL’s New York Jets in a three way parlay promo. It was titled Never Forget.

However, the promotion was pulled after criticism on social media and from the New York State Gaming Commission. But not before hundreds of bettors had placed their wagers.

“We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11,” DraftKings said in a social media statement.

“We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the families of those who were directly affected.”

Shameful and Reprehensible

The online sportsbook bonus, despite being removed and apologized for, still attracted swift criticism.

“This was reprehensible,” a spokesman for the New York State Gaming Commission said. “We expect all licensees to exercise sensitivity.”

However, for some, the apology wasn’t enough.

“It is shameful to use the national tragedy of 9/11 to promote a business,” said Brett Eagleson, who lost his father in the World Trade Center attacks.

“We need accountability, justice, and closure, not self-interest and shameless promotion,” he said, speaking to the Associated Press.

Greed or Grieving?

With two-thirds of the U.S. now offering legal sports betting, the stakes are high. Parlays, like the one DraftKings promoted, bundle multiple games or outcomes into a single wager, making them potentially profitable and popular for sportsbooks and bettors.

But theming them around the remembrance of a national tragedy is clearly not a good look.

Tom Von Essen was the New York City Fire Commissioner who saw 343 members of his department perish in the line of duty during the World Trade Center attacks.

“It’s insensitive and over the top,” he said, when asked about the DraftKings promo. “It’s something we don’t need on 9/11. But I understand greed.”

However, some pundits (and around 650 bettors, according to social media screenshots of the promo before it was taken down) were more understanding.

“The answer is that the Never Forget Parlay is not actually a faux pas. Its existence is easy to comprehend when viewed as what it is: not some aberrant expression of mourning, but the natural product of American culture’s perverse grieving process,” wrote Tom Ley for Defector.

The odds, by the way, were +651. That’s actually worse than the odds on the same nonpromo parlay wager at other rival sportsbooks like FanDuel. And, likely at many of the best offshore sportsbooks too.

Any bettors who did take the promo up before it went offline would have lost. The Mets lost 4-3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, ending the triple parlay before the Yankees play the Red Sox today.

Meanwhile, the N.Y. Jets did the city proud, winning 22-16 against the Buffalo Bills. That’s despite star quarterback Aaron Rodgers falling to a potentially season-ending injury in the first quarter.