The D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming announced Monday that FanDuel will replace GambetDC as the sole citywide sportsbook starting later this spring, ending the city's difficult first steps into the sports gambling industry.
OLG has not specified when the switch from GambetDC to FanDuel will occur, nor has it addressed what will happen to existing GambetDC accounts. The office's press representatives did not immediately respond to questions.
“FanDuel’s industry-leading offering will ensure the district maximizes tax revenue under its existing contracts this year while delivering a best-in-class experience,” OLG Executive Director Frank Suarez said in a statement.
Launched by Greek gaming company Intralot, which also operates DC's lottery system, GambetDC launched in May 2020 following poor reviews from sportsbooks who complained about the uncompetitive odds and technical glitches. It also fell short of the expectations of the city administration, which said in 2019 that it would add $20 million annually to the city's coffers. In January, Kenya DC Councilmember R. McDuffie (I-At Large), chair of the council's Economy and Economic Development Committee, said GambetDC had brought in just over $4.3 million for the city over its existence, a fraction of the $84 million the city expected to have generated by then, he said. In June 2023, GambetDC actually lost money, an extreme rarity in the world of sports betting.
Suarez told the D.C. Council in January that he was working with Intralot — which received a five-year, $215 million no-bid contract to develop the city's only sports betting platform — to find a private operator with a more established platform to do so do would subcontract the city's sports betting franchise. FanDuel is an established sports betting operator available in some form in 22 states, including Maryland and Virginia, where players can choose from multiple providers. This proved to be an attractive lure for Washington DC sports gamblers, who often ventured beyond the city limits to place their bets.
D.C. residents only had GambetDC unless they visited one of the three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks that have opened in or near the city's three professional stadiums and that can also operate apps in close proximity to those stadiums. GambetDC also operated retail kiosks across the city, which will be “gradually replaced” with machines operated by FanDuel, OLG said in a statement.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Intralot will cover OLG's current operating costs related to sports gambling and pay the city an initial fee of $5 million. In January, Suarez said subcontracting was a quicker solution than opening the city's sports gambling operations to re-tenders. He also said opening up sports gambling to multiple businesses — as is the case in most U.S. states, including Maryland and Virginia — would hurt retail businesses that have received a boost from operating GambetDC kiosks.
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