Sports betting company DraftKings is using September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Drawing people to bet on baseball and football games on the anniversary of a tragedy that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The Boston-based company offers users a 9/11-themed promotion calling out three New York teams — the Yankees, Mets and Jets — for Monday’s, World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. 22nd anniversary and the downing of a passenger plane over a field in Pennsylvania.
After people were outraged on social media about a promotion called “Never Forget,” DraftKings took it down and apologized.
“We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that we briefly shared in commemoration of 9/11,” the company wrote. “We respect the importance of this day to our country, especially to the families of those directly affected. .”
Bret Eagleson, whose father Bruce was killed at the World Trade Center, runs a family and first responders organization called 9/11 Justice. He denounced DraftKings’ offer as “tone deaf.”
“It’s shameful to use the national tragedy of 9/11 to promote a business,” he told The Associated Press. “We need accountability, justice and closure, not self-interest and shameless promotion.”
The company did not reveal how many people placed bets as a result of the offer, nor whether those bets were still valid or had been cancelled.
DraftKings is one of the leading companies offering legal sports betting in the United States and has grown rapidly since its creation by the U.S. Supreme Court 2018 cleared the way for it. The service is now available in two-thirds of the country.
The type of bets offered by DraftKings (bundling multiple games or results into one bet) can be very profitable for sports betting, and providing gamblers with pre-selected groupings (called parlays) is an important part of sports betting.
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