Sports Betting Bounces Back in DC

The DC Lottery has officially launched its very own Sports Betting platform. Developed in partnership with Intralot, the DC Lottery stated: “GambetDC is Washington, D.C.’s world class sports betting platform; it’s a new betting experience in the District that makes live betting and wagering on sporting events just as easy as watching them.” 

Whether you bet using the GambetDC app or website, you can bet with friends, have fun, game responsibly, and join a community of winners”, GambetDC said. 

Whilst the eagerly anticipated platform was scheduled for launch earlier this year, the current landscape appears to have had an impact, with the platform only becoming available in the last week of May.

The mobile experience is also yet to be released, leaving punters (for the time being at least) only able to access the app through their web browsers. 

This “Soft Launch” comes amid disputes between Dylan Carragher and the District, which took place towards the tail end of last year and centred around the lack of a tender process.

With Intralot providing core services to DC lottery for 10 consecutive years now, District residents have allegedly been prevented from seeking contracts with the operator.

Carragher ⁠argues that “The no-bid nature of the Intralot deal ultimately violates DC citizens’ rights to receive fair and competitive prices for the contractual services provided to the government.” 

With Intralot fulfilling another high value contract with DC Lottery, this move has the potential to add fuel to the fire.

But what does DC Lottery think this will mean for the district moving forward? “Like DC Lottery’s traditional lottery games, net revenues generated from GambetDC are returned to the District’s General Fund to directly benefit the residents and the economic vitality of the District of Columbia – that’s a win-win!”, DC Lottery stated on their website.

GambetDC also came under fire through recent glitch reports to the platform’s geolocation services. Given the sensitivity of the US sports betting market, this will surely be a priority for the Operator to fix for the future. 

Whilst it’s an exciting time for the market in DC, this release has not come without its challenges.

Given the competitive nature of the market, ultimately driving each supplier to innovate quicker than the last, perhaps an open bidding service may offer some benefit to the future of our industry.