Pro Sports Betting D.C. Councilmember Voted Out Of Office

• Jack Evans was the longest-serving councilmember in Washington D.C. but has been the focus of many ethical violations.
• The legalization of sports betting in Washington D.C. is just one of the examples of why Evans was voted out of the council.
• D.C. sports betting is still projected to launch in early 2020 as the lottery has begun reviewing licenses.

Editors’ Update & Correction: Dec 5, 2019 4:48 pm – This story incorrectly states that Councilmember Jack Evans was removed from office from the decision of the council’s vote. LegalSportsBetting was informed by a spokesperson of Councilmember Evans that the vote was only a recommendation for expulsion from an Ad Hoc committee, that Evans is still the sitting Ward-2 councilmember, and that no action would likely be taken regarding the councilmember until the end of January.

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, the DC Council voted unanimously to remove Councilman Jack Evans from his position of power.

Evans is the longest-serving legislator on the council but has been the focus of FBI raids, pay-to-play methods, and other habitual ethics violations.

This is the first time the council has voted to remove members from the board, as past issues have forced members to resign instead. Evans must testify before the council in a hearing that is expected to occur before the year’s end. After that happens, he can be officially removed from office.

No charges have been filed against Evans from the series of investigations that have occurred, but Evans’ approved sports betting contract is a prime example of wrongdoing.

DC Council’s Sports Betting Mishaps

Evans was the main reason that the D.C. sports betting contract was approved by the board, as he highly advocated for the sole-source deal.

Offering the contract to Intralot – the District’s lottery provider – without any formal bidding process seemed in the realm of normal; however, the focus on the company’s history made things a little more suspicious.

Intralot has no experience operating sports betting platforms within the United States and Evans’ side business – a consulting firm – received compensation from Intralot as a consultant.

Evans was unable to vote on the passage of the sports betting contract due to the connection but the council still approved the idea by a vote of 7-5.

The $215 million arrangement is still being challenged in court, after a local business operator claimed he wasn’t given a fair opportunity to present his sports betting platform.

Washington D.C. Sports Betting Launch

The local business operator filed an injunction, which was tossed aside by Superior Court Judge John Campbell, but the litigation surrounding the case did not conclude.

Still, the DC Lottery is eligible to begin working on a mobile sports betting app as well as launch the industry at their local lottery suppliers. With the regulations allowing sports betting to be offered by the lottery both in retail and online methods, other businesses and professional stadiums are able to become licensed operators as well.

As the licensing process kicked off on Tuesday, the lottery is expected to review and approve the applications within a month and a half. At this projected timeline, sports betting in Washington D.C. could be live before Super Bowl Sunday.

News tags: Intralot | Jack Evans | John Campbell | Washington D.C.