WASHINGTON — The District’s only mobile sports betting app has been a disaster since its launch in 2020, frustrating users and generating tens of millions of dollars less that lawmakers were told when they legalized sports gambling in the District.
Now, DC Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie is proposing a complete overhaul of DC’s sports betting system.
“Our current model isn't working,” McDuffie (I-At Large) posted on X Wednesday morning. “This bill will bring needed competition into the sports wagering marketplace and allows current Class A retail sportsbook operators (located at Audi Field, Capital One Arena and Nationals Park) to provide their mobile apps city wide."
The Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024 would allow for gamblers in the District to choose between sports betting platforms as is available to them in many other states, including Maryland and Virginia.
Under D.C.’s current sports betting law, the only citywide sports betting app available to gamblers is the GambetDC app, which has been plagued with technical issues. The app quickly became increasingly unpopular with sports betters, who often opted to drive to Virginia or Maryland to place mobile sports bets, or visited one of a number of brick-and-mortar sports books, including ones at Capital One Arena, Nationals Park and Audi Field.
The sportsbooks at Capital One Arena and Nationals Park also have mobile apps that work within a two-block radius of the sportsbook.
At a hearing in January, McDuffie announced GambetDC had generated roughly $4.3 million over its first three years. It was projected to generate $84 million over that time when the DC Council approved it. Then on March 9, the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) announced that FanDuel is the new sports wagering subcontractor for Intralot, Inc., OLG’s lottery and sports wagering system vendor.
Under the agreement, sports betters in D.C. will be able to use FanDuel’s sports wagering app, rather than the GambetDC app. OLG called FanDuel “the market leader nationally, as well as its website and retail platforms.” The changeover will happen sometime this spring, to be followed by FanDuel replacing GambetDC sports betting kiosks around the city with its own.
McDuffie’s proposal would also create a special mobile sports wagering license for sports teams who play their home games at a facility with a sportsbook, like Nationals Park or Capital One arena. If the legislation is approved, that would mean those teams could make their own deals for citywide mobile sports betting apps of their choosing, presumably giving Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis motivation to keep his teams in D.C. rather than going through with his proposed move to Potomac Yard.
On X, McDuffie posted that annually, his plan will invest $1,000,000 in youth extracurricular activities from the proceeds of sports wagering revenues, and dedicates $300,000 to the Department of Behavioral Health to combat problem gambling.
“As we know all too well from hearings, roundtables, constituent complaints, and underwhelming revenues, the current sports wagering market has failed to live up to the promises to the District,” McDuffie posted to X. “We can improve upon this landscape with this bill.”