FanDuel left users frustrated during NFL Championship Sunday.
The popular app’s users in Pennsylvania had problems logging in and placing wagers and were greeted with this message:
Judging from personal experience, DownDetector.com and tweets, the majority of the issues started at 3:30 p.m. EST and peaked at 6:30 p.m. EST.
Poor timing for problems
About a half-hour into the NFC Championship game between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers, FanDuel tweeted:
We are aware customers in PA may be experiencing trouble logging in and submitting wagers on the Sportsbook platform. Our team is working to resolve this issue and will provide an update here as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience!
It followed up a few hours later with:
FanDuel statement on technical problem
PlayPennsylvania reached out to FanDuel for comment.
FanDuel released this statement:
“FanDuel did experience a brief technical problem that interrupted our customer experience in Pennsylvania on Sunday. We identified the problem and our support teams addressed it as quickly as possible. Our customer service teams have also spoken to many of the affected customers. This was an isolated problem and no other interruptions were experienced within our platform across other markets.”
Without a statement on the cause of the outage, it’s safe to assume that PA’s market leader was experiencing an exorbitant amount of traffic on such a popular day for betting. A surprising half-time score of 21-10 in favor of the Bucs along with the AFC Championship matchup Bills vs. Chiefs starting at 6:40 p.m. likely added to a traffic surge.
Angry users take to Twitter
In the Philadelphia area, FanDuel was one of the trending topics on Twitter on Sunday. Users expressed their ire in tweet and meme form.
Also, yesterday and during other high peak times, this message regarding payouts appeared at the top of the FanDuel app:
FanDuel still rules despite increased competition
Since August 2019, FanDuel has taken the most bets of any sportsbook operator in Pennsylvania each month.
During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the FanDuel mobile app accounted for 49% of all online wagers placed in PA. In total during fiscal year 2019-20, the PA sports betting app took $968.7 million in bets and made $39.4 million in revenue.
When FanDuel launched in PA in late June 2019, it was the state’s fourth online sportsbook. Now, there are 13. DraftKings has held a firm grip on the No. 2 spot since arriving in the fall of 2019. Last week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released monthly figures for December 2020. FanDuel again was the leader for handle, but newcomer Barstool online sportsbook posted the highest revenue ($14 million) with an almost unheard of 20% hold.
Despite increased competition, six months into the 2020-21 fiscal year, FanDuel has nearly reached its total handle and already surpassed total revenue from last year. After six months, it has taken $946.8 million in bets and posted $49.5 million in revenue.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Matt Ludtke
