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On July 19th, 2024, the world was jolted by an unexpected revelation—our heavy dependence on technology, particularly that led by Microsoft. Businesses of all kinds were caught off guard and forced to halt operations while a solution was found. How did this unforeseen event specifically impact the gambling industry and how widely was it covered by gambling news sites?
Betting Sites Have Service Interrupted
When users logged on to their favorite gambling site on July 19th, some will have feared the worst that they were facing another Black Friday moment when the FBI shut down all the poker sites. Many sites failed to load, while others said they ‘would be back shortly.’ Luckily, this wasn’t another betting company lockdown but a broader technology issue, but there was still concern from sites like gamblingnews.com about the wider implications and potential future issues.
Microsoft and Crowdstrike, the tech giants, raced to fix the issue. They prioritized the critical systems that powered hospitals and airports, demonstrating their commitment to public safety. Gambling sites and commerce had to wait slightly longer, but full service was resumed within a few hours, a testament to their dedication.
Bad Timing for BetMGM
One of the emerging online casino and gambling sites is BetMGM. While the brand is relatively well-known in the United States, it’s not as big in Europe or the United Kingdom. Since the summer, they’ve been viciously marketing the sports demographic on that side of the Atlantic – trying to tempt customers onto their site so this was obviously going to make gambling news headlines.
While the outage wasn’t exclusively aimed at them, it significantly hampered BetMGM’s efforts to attract new customers during that period. Users trying to log on at that time may have lost trust in their brand and then logged onto another site that was functioning, a setback that BetMGM will need to overcome.
Las Vegas Slots Left on Error Code
One of the most tangible signs of the technology failure was that slot machines and other software-based games in casino venues failed to load. Punters visiting such establishments were left with only a fraction of available games, which tested their patience. Those willing to wait would eventually be able to play on the full complement of games, but only after several hours of the systems being down.
Operational Difficulties in Macau
Like in Las Vegas, there were issues in another casino destination, Macau. There are six major casino establishments in the area, and three of them reported difficulties carrying out their day-to-day duties due to the outage.
However, the issues were largely confined to administrative affairs. For example, staff could not process hotel check-ins or use the internal systems for other operational activities relating to the establishment’s upkeep. This did not, however, impact customer experience, as casino games and other gambling activities could still operate without hindrance.
The same reports have come from casino venues in the Philippines, where the outage did not cause as much devastation. However, they have problems, with deadly typhoons now amassing the nation.
Personal Users Also Disrupted
The outage wasn’t just a business or commercial disruption. It completely wiped out the Microsoft 365 package. So, if you wanted to use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or another of its many tools, you would have had limited success. While offline usage might have been functional for some, many people were left out in the cold without access to these tools.
At that point, many people may have tried out the Google versions of these tools, like Google Docs, Sheets, and other alternatives, which aren’t as costly and were, at that moment, a lot more functional than their Microsoft counterparts!
What Caused the Outage?
While the definite answer is riddled with technical details about hardware and software, CrowdStrike, a company that works closely with Microsoft, has stated that they were updating elements of their ‘Falcon Sensor’ program, the tool that operates cybersecurity for the majority of Windows programs, when something went awry.
For context, this type of software regularly has additions without users ever noticing. It’s back-end technology that end users will rarely directly interact with, if ever. In this extreme case, the update didn’t see eye to eye with Windows systems as a whole, meaning that many users were left unable to work.
What Else Was Impacted by the Outage?
It wasn’t just gambling firms and brands affected by the technical difficulties. Any hardware software using Microsoft programmes or technologies was susceptible to issues. Many international airports had to ground all flights; shops had to stop trading as their transactional systems were down, and hospitals could not log patient data. It was an absolute travesty for productivity – as countless employees took some unscheduled time off.
