The most profitable venture for sportsbooks is getting people to place parlays — over the last year in Nevada, the hold percentage for casinos is an outrageous 32 percent on parlays, while blackjack is 15 percent, for comparison’s sake. As such, if you ever log into a mobile sportsbook you will notice the top is always flooded with suggested parlays trying to get you to get in on the action that pays the bills for those companies.
Usually, the sportsbooks try to put some kind of theme around each parlay or attach it to one of the personalities they partner with. The problem with this plan is, sometimes you might wade into some deep waters with your parlay theme if you are not careful. That happened on Monday with DraftKings, as they posted a “Never Forget” parlay of New York teams for 9/11, featuring the Yankees, Mets, and Jets. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t go over particularly well.
DraftKings created this "Never Forget" 9/11 parlay featuring three New York teams.
It was taken down after several hours. pic.twitter.com/7crexkTfic
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 11, 2023
I have no idea what the chain of command is for getting parlay themes approved inside the DraftKings office, but I think it’s safe to say it will probably change now. Whoever approved that one got the company in some hot water, and they took the “Never Forget” parlay down off of the site and offered an apology on Twitter.
We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11. We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the families of those who were directly affected.
— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) September 11, 2023
As always, if you are a brand thinking about doing something on 9/11 that is anything more than the most basic solemn post about the tragedy, I would advise against it.
