DraftKings Among Array of Popular Web Sites Temporarily Knocked Offline

Posted on: July 22, 2021, 10:51h. 

Last updated on: July 22, 2021, 02:06h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

DraftKings was among a slew of well-known web sites experiencing outages and slow loading times today. Some gamblers may not have been able to place bets earlier today, and daily fantasy sports (DFS) players may not have been able to set lineups.

draftkings
The DraftKings website, seen here, was temporarily down earlier today. So were a bunch of other big-name corporate sites. (Image: YouTube)

For now, it appears DraftKings.com has been restored and is operating smoothly. But earlier today, users saw “Service Unavailable — DNS failure” upon visiting the popular gaming site. Reports are emerging that the issue is attributable to problems with Akamai’s Edge DNS or Global Traffic Management services. Akamai is a provider of cloud software infrastructure services corporations use to guard against cyber attacks.

We are aware of an emerging issue with the Edge DNS service,” according to a post on Akamai’s blog. “We are actively investigating the issue.”

The Massachusetts-based company also provides game and software delivery, which are vital to the operations of platforms such as online casinos and mobile sports betting applications – two of DraftKings’ most important consumer-facing offerings.

DraftKings Not Alone

While DraftKings was the lone betting operator mentioned as falling victim to outrage, a wide variety of websites hosted by popular brands and some of the biggest US companies also experienced problems earlier today.

Downdetector, which tracks user-reported website issues and sluggishness, currently lists nearly 50 sites, including DraftKings, as having dealt with problems today. Underscoring the critical nature of Akamai’s gaming exposure, betting and otherwise, that group includes DraftKings and four video game-related sites.

Airbnb, American Express, Credit Karma, and McDonald’s are also among the sites reporting issues, as are at least three brokerage firms — Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard. However, that’s not affecting broader markets, as the major domestic equity benchmarks are higher in midday trading.

DraftKings Stock Up

Shares of DraftKings aren’t reacting to the news of the temporary website outage, as the name is slightly higher Thursday.

That comes a day after Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought roughly 604,000 shares of the sportsbook operator. Her firm, which has been a diligent buyer of DraftKings equity in recent months, added nearly 487,000 shares of the gaming name to the ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKK) — the firm’s flagship exchange-traded fund.

The firm allocated the remainder of its July 21 DraftKings buy to the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW).

ARK is putting its money where its mouth is regarding DraftKings. In a report out earlier this week, the fund issuer forecast the domestic sports betting handle will swell to $180 billion by 2025, with revenue notching a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31 percent over that time.