FanDuel to replace GambetDC as Washington’s sports gambling app

The D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming announced Monday that FanDuel will replace GambetDC as the lone citywide sports-betting provider starting later this spring, ending the city’s troubled first steps into the sports gambling industry.

OLG did not specify when the change from GambetDC to FanDuel would be made, nor did it address what will happen to existing GambetDC accounts. The agency is still working to finalize implementation and conversion details, according to an OLG spokeswoman.

“FanDuel’s industry-leading offering will ensure that the District maximizes tax revenue under its existing contracts this year while delivering a best-in-class experience,” OLG Executive Director Frank Suarez said in a statement.

Created by Greek gaming company Intralot, which also runs D.C.'s lottery system, GambetDC launched in May 2020 to poor reviews from sports gamblers, who bemoaned its noncompetitive odds and technical glitches. It also underperformed the expectations of city officials, who said in 2019 that it would add $20 million annually to the city’s coffers. In January, D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (I-At Large), who chairs the council’s business and economic development committee, said GambetDC has brought in only a little more than $4.3 million to the city over the course of its existence, a fraction of the $84 million the city was projected to have made by then, he said. In June 2023, GambetDC actually lost money, an extreme rarity in the sports-gambling world.

In a statement, FanDuel said it would guarantee $45 million in revenue for the city over the course of its five-year deal ($5 million in the first year — paid out as a one-time “platform conversion fee” — and $10 million annually over the final four years). It said projects to generate much more revenue for the city, however: $119 million over the course of the contract. FanDuel also will assume the $2 million to $4 million in expenses the city now pays to operate its sports gambling enterprise, taking over responsibilities such as “payment processing, promotions, marketing, and retailer commissions & payouts," the company said in its statement.

Suarez told the D.C. Council in January that he was working with Intralot — which was awarded a five-year, $215 million, no-bid contract to develop the city’s sole sports betting platform — to find a private operator with a more established platform that would subcontract the city’s sports-betting franchise. FanDuel is a well-established sports-betting operator that is available in some form in 22 states, including Maryland and Virginia, where gamblers have multiple operators from which to choose. That proved to be an attractive enticement for D.C. sports gamblers, who frequently ventured over the city’s borders to place their bets.

D.C. residents only had GambetDC, unless they visited one of the three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks that have opened at or near the city’s three professional stadiums, and which can also operate apps in the immediate vicinity of those stadiums. GambetDC also operated retail kiosks across the city, which will be replaced by machines operated by FanDuel “on a phased basis,” OLG said in a statement. The new kiosks are anticipated to be ready in the summer, according to the OLG spokeswoman.

In January, Suarez said the subcontracting route would be a quicker fix than opening up the city’s sports-gambling operation to rebidding. He also said that opening up sports gambling to multiple companies — as is the case in most U.S. states, including Maryland and Virginia — would hurt the retail businesses that have gotten a boost from operating GambetDC kiosks.