New Bill Proposed That Would End D.C. Online Sports Betting Monopoly

GambetDC is the only app for D.C. Lottery's mobile betting service. Councilmember Elissa Silverman introduced legislation yesterday to open up the market. It would allow other apps to compete with Gambet and prevent the company from renewing its contract in 2024. It also would set the tax rate on revenue at 15%, a competitive bidding system for contracts and allow brands such as FanDuel and DraftKings to be used anywhere within the city.

Intralot was paid $215 million to implement legal sports betting in D.C. in 2020. The GambetDC app went live in 2021. Intralots reported a deficit of $4 million in their first full year of operation.

Intralot paid D.C. $500,000 to compensate the city for lost revenue. GambetDC estimated a handle of $6.2 million in March 2022. Virginia had $470 million bets in that month and Maryland's retail-only market had $31 million.