DC Sports Betting Regulations To Be Released Next Month

• DC Sports betting is expected to launch in September of this year.
• The lottery-operated mobile app has yet to be created – looking like a Jan 2021 release.
• The finance and revenue committee suggested that the lottery should look for another supplier of their app.

WASHINGTON – The DC Lottery is in charge of setting regulations for the legal sports betting industry of the District.

The regulations are planned to be released in June, allowing the lottery to then focus on approving sports betting licenses. If all goes as planned, legal sports betting in DC should launch by September of this year.

Those with Class A or Class B licenses will have no trouble offering betting lines to those in the DC area; however, the lottery’s district-wide app is already experiencing delays.

Lottery officials believe this delay will cause the betting platform to launch in Jan of 2021 – well past the original timeline of the beginning of the NFL season.

This may create a worry for sports bettors in the area but the bigger focus shifts towards the Fiscal 2020 budget, which starts in October.

According to a report and recommendation of the budget from the committee on finance and revenue, the state-operated platform accounts for $84.1 million of the projected $91.7 million in revenue from sports betting in FY 2020.

This all stems from the platform’s supplier, Intralot, underdoing recent financial struggles all while the contract negotiations are happening with the gaming company and the DC Lottery. Their struggles even allowed for the committee to encourage the council to look elsewhere for a supplier or undergo a bidding process at the least.

“The committee encourages the Lottery to continuously monitor whether to pivot to a competitive mobile marketplace, especially considering the project start of private sports wagering in September 2019 and the delayed timeline for the Lottery offering,” said Councilmember Jack Evans, inside the budget report.

Regardless of the Lottery’s final decision, sports betting in DC will begin later this year. The funds are already being directed to three accounts and will likely do just fine for its first few months of operation without the state’s platform.

The first $200,000 of the tax contributions will be sent to the Department of Behavioral Health in order to fund services and treatment for addictive gambling. The remaining revenue will be split between the Neighborhood Safety and Engagement Fund as well as providing free childcare under the “Birth-to-Three for all DC” Act.

News tags: sports betting | Washington DC