Intralot wins big, Evans' "hybrid" proposal has passed through the council "first reading", "second reading" is in two weeks, after which the mayor will sign the bill and Congress has 30 days to review. The law could be in effect as soon as mid-January, allowing the DC Lottery to begin setting up mobile betting in the city.
With no in market competition Intralot has been proposing a 20-30% "hold", rather than what in a competitive market would be as low as 5%. Of course who in their right mind would bet with a bookie taking that kind of a cut? MGM was ready to step in with their app that is already in use in NV and NJ but instead DC will probably end up with some sort of crap app with parlays and other convoluted bets designed to hide the terrible odds.
The city still expects for MGM (or another big sports book) to set up shop in Nats Park, Audi Field, and the Cap One Center, but that is less likely now because the start up costs are enormous and it's questionable whether there will be enough volume to justify the investment without mobile betting. The city also expects a number of hotels and bars to open smaller operations.
DCFPI (Fiscal Policy Institute) has a great article arguing the case against sports betting in the city, basically the tax revenues are being greatly exaggerated and the costs greatly understated, it's just not worth the hassle. This is of course correct, but with betting inevitable it would have been better for the city to allow the big name companies to compete rather than allowing the failing DC Lottery to screw it up.
https://www.dcfpi.org/all/testimony-of-ed-lazere-at-the-public-hearing-on-bill-22-944-the-sports-wagering-lottery-amendment-act-of-2018/One interesting exchange during the Council meeting was over the RFK site. The bill names RFK as one of the five stadium sites to get the initial licences, but it's on Federal land so the city can't override the US government's ban on gambling on their property. The assumption being made is that the city is working with the Feds to take ownership of the site prior to the return of the Redskins to DC.
