Nevada: William Hill app crashes on Super Bowl day, leaving users unable to place bets and withdraw winnings

During Sunday’s Super Bowl, the biggest sports betting day of the year in the US, countless gamblers in Nevada were unable to place bets on the Chiefs vs. Eagles encounter as the William Hill sportsbook mobile betting app crashed right before the game started. Moreover, on the following day, several bettors who placed bets on the event were still unable to collect their winnings. 

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said in a statement that it is “aware of the issue and board agents from the Enforcement and Technology Division are investigating the matter.”

The app was down as of 8 pm on Monday. Users clicking on its platform were sent to a page that reads “Unable to start. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties, we apologize for the inconvenience.”

We are aware of an issue affecting users in NV. Our team is looking into this, and we hope to have a resolution as soon as possible. We will provide any updates here as they become available.

— William Hill US (@WilliamHillUS) February 13, 2023

As reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal, the book’s customer support is telling customers that it has no ETA on when the app will be fixed. The problem extends to retail withdrawals with customers unable to get their money at William Hill books inside casinos, as their computer systems are down across the board, and accounts cannot be accessed.

The company also serves as the platform for the Caesars Sportsbook app in Nevada. Both apps are dealing with the same issues. In a message posted on Twitter, William Hill assured that the team is currently working to restore full functionality. 

Our team is aggressively working to restore full functionality to the William Hill Nevada app. We understand how frustrating this is for our guests, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We are moving quickly to resolve the problem. Thank you for your continued patience. https://t.co/qHbfQXAAVR

— William Hill US (@WilliamHillUS) February 13, 2023

William Hill initially tweeted during the game that it was “aware of an issue affecting users in Nevada," and stated its team was looking into it. After the game, the company assured it was “currently in the process of settling all Super Bowl wagers” and asked for patience from its customers. 

The Super Bowl has brought more than $1 billion in wagers to the state’s sportsbooks since 2017, including $153.2 million this year. William Hill operates a large number of sportsbooks across the Reno-Sparks area including the Grand Sierra Resort, the Bonanza, the Sands, Rail City Casino, Boomtown, Tamarack Junction, the Nugget, and more.

The news comes days after the state's regulator announced it has broken up an embezzlement scheme that resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of dollars to a Nevada sports wagering company, reportedly identified by local media as William Hill.

Agents began investigating the matter in December after the licensee self-reported potential fraud using internal information technology systems at sports betting kiosks.  Officials did not name suspects or the victimized company in a news release issued Friday and would not disclose additional information. However, Las Vegas Justice Court documents point to an embezzlement and fraud case that was heard by Judge Rebecca Saxe on Thursday involving an alleged scheme against William Hill.