Will The DC Lottery Ever Launch Its Sports Betting App?

• The DC Lottery and its sports betting app are both run by Intralot.
• New zoning mandates have created more delays for the application’s launch.
• Residents can now expect to see legal wagers sometime in early 2020.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Will DC ever launch their legal sports betting application? Originally their app was set to be introduced to the public in the Fall. However, they continue to come across roadblocks that have halted their progress. This past September they were hit with a complaint by Dylan Carragher, a mobile app developer who did not agree to the city hiring Intralot as their mobile betting platform without any allowance for other companies to bid on the job.

Further Delays

After a three-week ban issued by the courts from Carragher’s complaint, Intralot was given the green light to continue working on the project. A lawsuit on the matter is awaiting further action.

This new delay has nothing to do with the lawsuit but rather the gaming zones. New paperwork has made legal gaming zones a bit smaller, requiring further tweaks to be made to the application.

Smaller businesses that were given the go-ahead in August to be a part of the zones legally allowed to use the sports betting app have now been banned. Originally, the plans written up back then were supposed to be set in stone. But a spokesperson with the Lottery now says they were “draft maps” to what is now a more clarified version for the finalized zoning developments.

“We’re extremely disappointed at this development,” said gaming attorney, Jeff Ifrah. “We were expecting a small business-friendly amendment, not one that makes the situation worse.”

With these extra delays, the mobile sports betting app is now expected to be out sometime within the first quarter of 2020. January’s pushback date is no longer on the table as an option as these modifications will take time. Zones that have been approved by the DC Lottery to have access to the sports wagering application will all be within 2 block radiuses of all professional sporting facilities in the District.

Applying For Licensure

The DC Lottery expects to begin taking applications for sports betting licenses in the beginning of December. The review process is expected to take 30-45 days for all applicants. Once licensees receive approval, they will be able to offer the sports betting mobile app at their businesses whenever it finally launches to the public.

“Hopefully, they’ll approve them quickly,” said Ifrah. “We want to get going right away. We still hope to be live by the Super Bowl, and this gives us a shot.”

Considering that the Super Bowl is in early February, there is a very slim shot of that happening. In the betting world, no one would touch a wager like that one. Residents of DC can expect to see legal mobile sports wagering by the Spring of 2020, pending any further delays.

News tags: DC Lottery | Dylan Carragher | Intralot | Jeff Ifrah | Super Bowl