Will DC’s Sports Betting Lines Be As Bad As Montana’s?

• Sports Bet Montana launched last week with Intralot and the betting lines were all over the normal market price, allowing fewer wagers to be placed.
• DC also hired Intralot to operate its lottery app, however, DC will have other sportsbooks to choose from allowing the District to have a better shot at profits than Montana could see.

HELENA, Mont. – Both Washington D.C. and Montana hired Intralot as their sports betting operator for their lottery applications but will the nation’s capital have betting lines as bad as Montana’s once they open?

Last week, Montana launched Sports Bet Montana but the excitement wore off a bit when seeing how widely the lines varied.

Many of the favored teams were receiving odds as high as (-1,111) on the moneyline, which inevitably deterred bettors that wanted to gamble on the favorite.

These kinds of odds were considered to be some of the worst if not the worst when compared to other sports betting operators nationwide. Washington D.C. has not yet launched its sportsbooks but Intralot is one of the companies that was hired. However, things could be much different for D.C.’s sports betting scene.

Retail locations in Montana were given kiosks by the Montana Lottery which are powered by Intralot. The betting lines in the machines come from Intrlot as well. Land-based locations and the Sports Bet Montana application leave sports bettors in the Treasure State with no real options to shop lines.

D.C. will have a mobile sports betting application that Intralot will operate as the app is associated with the lottery who inked a deal with the company. The expected launch of the D.C. platform is estimated to coincide with the start of Major League Baseball (MLB).

But Intralot will not hold the monopoly over the sports betting market in Washington D.C. making their available betting lines more attractive to gamblers.

Multiple facilities in DC will be able to apply for sportsbook licenses. They will also be allowed to have some form of mobile betting platform. With other competitors, not just Intralot, the sports betting market in D.C. looks to be far better than the one that has opened up for those in Montana.

It’s these reasons that will see gambling on sporting events in DC to have a greater variety of lines to take part in. One company will not have a monopoly on the market.

While this may mean that the lottery application may not get as much business as land-based establishments and their mobile sportsbooks, it still creates revenue for the District area either way.

While the beginning of legal sports betting in Montana did not start off with a bang due to the extreme lines, that can always be changed.

Intralot may eventually adapt with the sports bettor in mind, which will garner business for Montana’s sports betting terminals and allow residents to partake in sports wagering.

News tags: DC | DC Lottery | Intralot | MLB | Montana | Montana Lottery | Sports Bet Montana