On the biggest sports betting day in America, the William Hill app crashed for bettors in the state of Nevada just prior to kickoff. Well, they do say that timing is everything.
How could such a thing happen? Were they simply not prepared for such a massive volume of traffic? I mean, William Hill is one of the largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom, so surely they have experienced large spikes to their apps before. And they’ve been in Nevada for several years… even before the US sports betting revolution. So surely they knew what was coming.
So, some players were unable to place bets when the William Hill app crashed. What could be worse? How about the players who placed bets before the crash not being able to collect their winnings! Some were told that there will be no payouts for anyone in the state!
Now, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is getting involved and investigating the issues. In a statement to local news outlets the Board said they were “aware of the issue” and that their agents are currently investigating the matter. Specifically, agents from the Enforcement and Technology Division. But that’s of little comfort to those holding winning tickets right now.
As we wrote this article on Wednesday, there was no new information available from news outlets, and the Control Board listed no updates. Over $150 million was bet on the big game this year. That number could have been higher, obviously, had the William Hill app crashed later in the day.
Of course, William Hill does not want this publicity. Nor do they want to cost their partners, like Caesars, additional winnings. Whatever happened, we’re certain that the company will not only address and resolve the problem, but compensate their players and make everything right. They can’t afford not to do so.