Will New Sports Betting Kiosks Help D.C. Sports Gaming Industry?

• GambetDC and the DC Lottery will be providing sports betting kiosks to bars and restaurants among other venues in the District to wager on sports.
• Ben’s Next Door, Lou’s City Bar, Takoma Station Tavern, and Dirty Water Sports Bar are the four businesses in Washington, D.C. that are presently equipped with live sportsbook terminals.
• More restaurants and bars will see these kiosks to gamble on sporting events open up before DC Lottery retailers begin to get their own.

WASHINGTON – Four businesses in Washington, D.C. have launched sports betting kiosks at their venues on Friday, just in time for preseason football wagers. GambetDC, the sportsbook platform run by the DC Lottery, is providing these kiosks to small, locally owned businesses who are in need of a boost from the ruins they’ve been left with after the Coronavirus Pandemic.

“GambetDC is important because the funds go towards helping D.C.,” said Brian Mitchell, a former running back for the Washington Football Team. “You’ve got people right here that like to bet, and the kiosks allow you to use, a lot of people don’t have credit cards to put money on their accounts from their phones. And, you can see the game right here on tv and watch what you’re betting on.”

Washington, D.C. Sportsbooks

Washington D.C. sports betting has not been the most lucrative industry since going live over a year ago. Projections for the market were expected to be exponentially higher than what would eventually be the case. However, the difficult rules and regulations for the sports gaming industry are not solely to blame for the abysmal numbers for gambling on sports, as the outbreak of COVID-19 only furthered the problems for the market in the District.

These new sportsbook kiosks are slated to open in restaurants and bars first, with each venue being allotted two to three terminals. Presently, the four locations that went live with them on Friday are Ben’s Next Door, Lou’s City Bar, Takoma Station Tavern, and Dirty Water Sports Bar. After these kinds of businesses have been taken care of, lottery retailers will see kiosks of their own for regulated sports betting.

GambetDC will give every location with these kiosks 5% commissions on bets placed via their machines. They will also be given 1% of the commission when they cash sports gaming products for customers. The rest of the money will go to GambetDC and the DC Lottery.

Mobile sports wagering with GambetDC has not done as well as was originally planned. Not only will these kiosks help local businesses, but they’ll also contribute to GambetDC’s total numbers for handle and revenue, leaving nothing but upside for them providing these machines in Washington, D.C. for residents to wager on sports. And with the NFL season set to begin with its first preseason game on Thursday, there is no better time for these kiosks to begin popping up all over the D.C. area.

A Bettor Outlook In 2022

Sports bettors in Washington, D.C. already have more options available to them to wager on sports than they did in the inaugural year of the gaming market. As other sportsbooks begin to open up who are not affiliated with the DC Lottery, it will only lead to a more competitive industry that will enrich the profit margins for D.C.‘s sports wagering endgame.

These factors, coupled with the beginning of the NFL season and all of the tremendous NFL wagers that come with it, it’s possible that D.C. may actually begin to see the greener side of having a regulated sports wagering industry going into 2022.

News tags: Ben’s Next Door | Brian Mitchell | Coronavirus pandemic | DC | DC Lottery | Dirty Water Sports Bar | GambetDC | Lou’s City Bar | NFL | Takoma Station Tavern | Washington | Washington Football Team