Following recent regulatory changes in Washington, D.C., BetMGM and Caesars sportsbooks plan to launch their mobile betting platforms this coming Monday, July 15.
Caesars Sportsbook plans to go live with district-wide mobile sports betting in D.C. on Monday. Though the launch is subject to final testing. BetMGM intends to send out an official press release Monday pending the signing of the bill.
BetMGM bettors wanting to access its app will no longer need to be within a two-block radius from its sportsbook at Nationals Park.
These latest developments are primarily due to the efforts of Kenyan McDuffie, a D.C. Council member who successfully lobbied for reforms to the sports betting market through the city’s latest budget.
Until now, most online sportsbooks have been operating under a Class A license. This allowed operators to launch a retail sportsbook at a licensed sports stadium. Using geolocation restrictions, players could only access the online sportsbook within two blocks of this retail sportsbook.
The only exception is the official sports betting partner of the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), which is allowed to offer sports betting district-wide, effectively operating a monopoly. Currently, FanDuel is the OLG-partnered platform, replacing the underperforming GambetDC platform, which was operated in partnership with Intralot.
The shift to FanDuel has resulted in all-time highs in D.C. sports betting handle and revenue.
The new framework also reduces the tax rate for operators from 40% to 20%, encouraging a more competitive betting environment for operators.
