The new online sportsbook in DC has already created tremendous value for an ailing DC sports betting market in just its first 14 days of operation.
A spokesperson from the District’s Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) told Covers that FanDuel’s initial launch as the go-to online sports betting platform in the nation’s capital “has not just met but surpassed expectations.”
FanDuel’s first 14 days of operation were April 15 through April 28, and it generated $13.5 million in handle and $2.3 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR). Its predecessor GambetDC had underwhelmed as the sole option for DC bettors, and the legal sports betting industry leader has already blown its performance out of the water.
FanDuel’s figures are 371% higher in handle and 1.325% higher in GGR than what GambetDC accomplished in the same period last year.
GambetDC officially announced its plans to shutter its DC sports betting operations on April 14, just a day before FanDuel went live in the District.
The OLG spokesperson also said that the switch to the market share leader in the US legal sports betting industry has already brought back over 22,000 active users to DC sports betting. This was credited as a “testament to a successful transition” since many of these users were likely placing their bets in the neighboring markets of Maryland and Virginia.
The good vibes aren’t just emanating from the operator side either. The spokesperson added:
“Players have expressed excitement about the change to FanDuel, further supported by the strong performance thus far.”
GambetDC had a marred reputation within the DC sports betting ecosystem when the FanDuel takeover was initially reported in March, so this positive sentiment just a couple of weeks into FanDuel’s operation is a signal of how the rollout has gone exceedingly well.
The spokesperson concluded that the OLG is now working to begin transitioning the 50+ retail partner locations to the FanDuel brand “sometime this summer.”
Will DC Sports Betting Expand?
At the moment, FanDuel is the only online sportsbook operator authorized to take action throughout most of the District, acting as a subcontractor to Intralot which contracted with the DC Lottery.
Within the current regulations governing DC sports betting, GambetDC formerly maintained and now Fanduel currently maintains a monopoly on online sports betting in DC. Caesars and BetMGM both have retail sportsbooks - at Capital One Arena and Nationals Park, respectively - that allow them to launch geofenced mobile betting within a two-block radius of those locations, but other than that, it’s a one-stop-shop in the nation’s capital.
Some would like to see this change. Members of the Council of the District of Columbia held a public hearing on May 5 for the Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024. If passed, this bill introduced by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, would amend the current law around sports betting in Washington, D.C. to create a more competitive market for mobile wagering.
B25-0753 would completely overhaul the way DC sports betting functions. It would create a new license class to allow professional sports teams to partner with online sportsbook operators for district-wide wagering and it would permit existing operators to take bets throughout almost the entirety of the District, with exceptions for the two blocks around pro sports venues and federal government property.
There are concerns over the proposed tax structure of this bill and how it would affect both existing and prospective online sports betting sites in Washington, D.C. In its first two weeks of operation though, FanDuel drove over $900,000 in revenue for the city while GambetDC only brought in just over $4.3 million in tax revenue in its lifetime.
Regardless of how the DC sports betting market pans out, it seems FanDuel has sparked some much-needed momentum for consumers and regulators alike which could lead to more opportunities to enhance the experience for sports betting in Washington, D.C.
